Kay wanted a hippopotamus
for Christmas,
nothing else would do,
her family bore the witness.
She did not want a fancy doll
or a fuzzy teddy bear,
She did not want a frilly dress
or sparkles for her hair.
Santa crossed the isthmus
with water on both sides,
he found the mighty river horse*
and shrank it down in size.
Santa made his run
on snowy Christmas Eve,
Placed the beast below the tree
and turned around to leave.
Little Kay was standing there
wiping sleep away,
She hugged pink hippo very tight and knew
her life would once again be gay**
* "hippopotamus" comes from Greek words meaning "river horse".
**”gay” meaning “lighthearted and carefree”.
A hippo never went to school
which seems quite the catawampus
tho' he's no fool it's not cool
as there's no hippo campus
and wild is the hippo
while the horse may be tamed
yet both are herbivores
with large teeth to graze or crop
and altho' the hippo has an equine nickname
that's where the similarity stops
as the hippo is the horse of the river
(a horse of a different colour?)
causing him to be conflicted and confused
thus these words of wisdom I deliver
they'll walk trot or run on the sand
but the horse is not the hippo of dry land
so when he did wonder why
to clarify then classify
after several lobotomi
he was heard to query
"What kind of hippopotami?"
in my hands, a
poetry book
green cover doesn’t
matter
the weight,
does
meaty, the
insides
questions posed, poets
famous
“Edward,” was,
anonymous
hippopotamus, just
felt like saying this
cover to cover, I
grip
working measurements, with my
eyes
disguise, I
am just avoiding
the inevitable walk
out
to explore my
feelings
rather, I
put my nose back
into my catharsis,
not gravity
I wanna be a wallaby
And not just a wanna-be,
Not a kangaroo or
Silly platypus
But, if I can’t be a wallaby
I think that I would wanna be
A plump and dumpy
Hippopotamus!
hippopotamus
massive and herbivorous ...
ride the river horse
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Entry: "Wild Animal Haiku" Poetry Contest
Contest Judged: 4/18/2022
Sponsored by: Tania Kitchin
(3)
A young friendly hippopotamus
lived by the river, across from us
Then one day five hunters came
Looking to shoot big easy game.
*
They put five bullets in his head
And now our friendly hippos dead
They should bow heads in shame
The lodge will never be the same.
*
To kill that beast a heinous crime
They should do some prison time
The rangers came arrested three
But two hunters escaped scot free
*
They ran into the bush to hide
Walked straight into a lion pride
They paid a price, they did offend
'Cos Karma got them in the end.
Written 11th November 2020.
Hieronymus the Hippopotamus,
Implied at times that he was xylotomous;
Even claiming to be most gregarious.
Real time though, he loved to be autonomous;
Only decidedly not anonymous;
Not to mention being quite hilarious.
Yet no one found him to be synonymous,
Moreover, with the crudely cantankerous;
Unlikely even to be obstreperous.
Some friends on the Nile found him magnanimous.
The chucky of the body makes it whole
Is it there for a valid reason
The toughness of the skin makes it solid
Is it there to cover the softness
Loving my structure
I might be quite
But when my mouth is open
The world hears me
I might not be the one to look at
But the world stares at me
I might not be a lion in the jungle
But I am the king in the water
The eyes stays hiding under the water
What a concealed environment
The feet stays firmly on the ground
What a confidence it has
Must I continue
I saw a Hippopotamus going to the fair,
wearing pink pyjamas with a bow up in his hair,
he was followed by a Zebra who was wearing bright
blue socks,
a Chimp and a Koala bear, wearing matching frocks,
they climbed into the teapots looking quite a sight,
and a little old man spat out his teeth as they gave him quite a fright!
in water hippos
are the most deadly to man
than alligators
2019 September 10
Never stand behind a hippo!
Never stand behind a hippo!
Never stand behind a hippo!
Projectile diarrhea!
When he sits
He crushes the evidence
Corrupting the human mind
Everyday I have lunch
With a pink hippopotamus
The menus always the same
Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches
Oh, and Diet Cherry Coke
Cause he likes the way it tickles his throat
His friends sometimes stop by
To join the both of us
Hippopotami
If you're talking more than one of us
Or Hippo for short
If you're not into funny sounding words
Sometimes after lunch
Me and my friend the pink Hippopotamus
Like to take a drive
To the beach in his Minibus
He loves to catch the rays
Plus hang ten on a few waves
If you ever care for lunch
Feel free to join me and my Hippopotamus
But only if you like
Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches
Because it's all that he will eat
Which is fine by me
Makes for easy cooking and cleaning
.
hippopotamus
Fall's black cloud design in sky..
cloud dissipated
Oh! I’m very glad that I
Am not a Hippopotami
And should I ever get the choice
It’ll not be Hippopotamoice
© John W Fenn 15-Feb 2009
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