Poetry Wednesday, Vol. 91

The kids and I really enjoy Scranimals by Jack Prelutsky. We recently rediscovered our torn and tattered copy, reading at odd times of the day. Last night we read it for a bed time story. I have to admit, when we first opened the book a couple years ago, I was less than excited about it. The poems and the ideas just didn't grab me. But the kids loved it. Every new animal was endlessly fascinating. They spent entire minutes drawing new variations of animal/fruit/vegetable hybrids. So we kept reading the book. And as it so often happens with Stockholm Syndrome I grew to love the book. Now I don't just read it, I actually enjoy it!

And next time we are at your house and you serve us radishes, you will understand why our pronunciation of the name is just a little off.

Jack Prelutsky



In the middle of the ocean
In the deep deep dark,
Dwells a monstrous apparition,
The detested RADISHARK.
It's an underwater nightmare
That you hope you never meet,
For it eats what it wants,
And it always wants to eat.

Its appalling, bulbous body
Is astonishingly red,
And its fangs are sharp and gleaming
In its huge and horrid head,
And the only thought it harbors
In its small but frightful mind,
Is to catch you and to bite you
On your belly and behind.

It is ruthless, it is brutal,
It swims swiftly, it swims far,
So it's guaranteed to find you
Almost anywhere you are.
If the RADISHARK is near you,
Pray the beast is fast asleep
In the middle of the ocean
In the dark dark deep.