MAMA SAID

Mama said,
“Keep your feet on the ground,
Firmly planted,
Safe and sound.
And you will grow up proud and tall.”

But that’s not what I want at all.

“Then stuck in the clouds
Your head will be,
With your feet in the air.”
She said to me,
“And go where e’r the wind may blow.”

Dear mama how I’ll miss you so…

STUCK

Ashley Lou stuck her nose in a book
And, wouldn’t you know,
She couldn’t get it out.
So everywhere she’d go
She’d read all about
A dragon’s flight
And a princess of course
And a daring knight
On his trusty white horse.
But golly gee and fiddle,
Although the story was splendid,
With her nose stuck in the middle,
She never knew how it ended.

TOP TO BOTTOM

Said the captain’s boots to the captains hat,
I envey your station there
You gaze upon the rolling waves
Across the open seas,
High atop the captains head
Amid the salty breeze.

Said the captain’s hat to the captains boots,
How lucky you must feel
To walk and run and climb about
And lead the men in chase
And dance a lively sailors jig
Each time the fiddle plays.

THE MAGIC HEN

Charlie Gruel stold the hen 
That laid the golden egg.

But Charlie Gruel was cruel
Lay, he said
And the hen laid.

The hen laid a pink egg
The hen laid a blue
The hen laid a green
And a purple one too
Then spotted white
And speckled brown,
And Charlie Gruel began to frown.

Lay, he said
And the hen laid.
But Charlie Gruel was sore dismayed

For since he stold that magic hen,
She’s never laid a gold again.

DIRT BUG DUG

I’m digging a hole to China today.
That takes a long time I hear you say,
But I will dig there anyway.

It might take hours,
It may take days,
To dig so very far away. 

Weeks will go by
And maybe years,
Could be 87 years,
Then out I’ll dig with a long gray beard.  

Out into a strange and curious land
With magical sound
from a Chinese band.
 
Of pointed hats and bamboo houses
Of Chinese cats and Chinese mouses
Of scented winds and golden fields
Of statues armed with swords and shields
Of flowing streams and endless fountains
And pink sunsets over Chinese Mountains.

You’d like to help I hear you say,
Grab a shovel and come this way.
We’re digging a hole to China today.   

CAT-A-PULT

In days of old the cat-a-pult
Was used to siege and cause tumult
By launching cats o'er castle walls
To make a warring
Cat-a-brawl.

The Cats would land
(On their feet of course)
Then go to every man and horse
And snarl and hiss
And scratch and bite
In a raging furry
Cat-a-fight.

Hail the cats in the sky
Hail the felines flying by
Make ready for the cat assault
And launch the deadly
Cat-a-pult.

CROCOSMILE

I’m going to surf a while
He said

On that long green crocodile
He said

The one with the crooked smile
He said

Then down the winding Nile
Went Ted

Down a mile around the bend
Having fun and hangin’ ten,

Never to be seen again.

SALLY AND SAM

There once was a man
Named Whistlin’ Sam
Who whistled in a one man band,
He spent night and day
Just whistlin’ away
His whistlin’ was really quite grand.

There once was a gal
Called Whistlin’ Sal
Who whistled just like a Canary,
Her favorite past time
Was whistlin’ a chime
She whistled to make herself merry.

When Sam and Sal met
They made a duet
And whistled a love song together,
Now wooed and wed they’re
A whistlin’ pair
And they’ll whistle sweet music forever.

SEASHELLS

They say that you’ll hear blowing wind
And waves upon the sand
And distant sounds of ocean birds
And cries of fishermen

But all I heard when I placed 
A seashell to my ear
Was a great, big,

Snap! 

JUNGLE JIM

Jungle Jim has 
Shoulders for sittin’
High up top
A back for slidin’ down
Kurplop
Arms for swingin’
Back and forth
Knees for riddin’ like a
Racin’ horse
Shins for kickin’ - 
Makes him frown
Feet for bouncin’
Up and down
Toes for pullin’ - 
Makes him grin
And hair for climbin’ 
Up again.