Earn His Keep Poems | Examples


List of Member Poems

Premium Member BUSTED

A mouse in our house did confound,
Who crept about without a sound,
He ate all our cheese,
And custard with ease,
Leaving nothing for us to be found.

His roaming through alleys in town,
He’d become very well known around,
His tail quite bent,
His poor ears where rent,
The cat had chased out the hound.

He came to our door very thin,
He was happy to sit there within,
He was no clown,
Around the town,
He sat quietly planning where to begin.

When we had gone off to sleep,
He was ready to earn his keep,
There would be no fair match,
If the mouse he did catch,
While the house lay in silence so deep.

There once was a cat known as Busted,
Whose hunting was sharp and well trusted,
With a flick of his tail,
He was on the trail,
He ensured that mouse had been busted.

I Am a Prostitute

As told to me in confidence
Many years ago,
This is her story
Which I write here below. 

I am a prostitute
Not that I wanted to be
Life was difficult
For the household and me. 
I turned to this life
The style and living
Nights were days
Sans feeling and loving. 
My in-laws objected 
To this life in the beginning
But later condescended
For the money I was spinning. 
The earning was good
Men too were useful
When times were hard
Their manipulation was skillful
I had them old, young and handsome
Beginners and veterans;
Cheating husbands would come. 
I am sure my husband 
Would not be like them
He was faithful, is still so
Handsome though unkempt, 
I love him even more. 
I was advised an operation
Decided my husband to inform
I know he wouldn't object 
To my latest damned reform
He wouldn't hear my voice nor see
Me, his wife that needs to be
Not that I enjoyed this life I live
But the care to him I must give. 
He lies there in the bed
Paralysed from foot to head. 
My husband means much to me
I am a prostitute to earn his keep.

Shep and the Pup

Shep the pup was working the sheep;
He had to work hard to earn his keep.
Away, come bye, walk in; but never a scold,
Because he always did what he was told.

Keeping all the sheep safe from harm,
Watching the sheep from dusk til’ dawn,
When he did something good, he always knew
Because the master always said: “That’ll do”

The farmer’s wife made him special treats,
Biscuits and gravy; even better than sweets!
When one day a new pup came home and stayed,
Shep helped the young lad, and taught him the trade.

He taught how to move the sheep with just one try,
To balance and shed, but mainly to use the eye.
The master was so very impressed,
For the new pup learned fast, who would have guessed?

“The new pup is grand!” he would tell his wife,
He learns with ease, without trouble or strife.
Shep and the young pup fly,
Stayed together as man years went by.

You may hear people talk of the great Border collie,
Just know the best of all, was Shep and the puppy.


Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.

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