Specimen Poems | Examples

Behold! God has a Sense of Humor!

“Ah! Ah!” cried Mr. Shaw, a museum man of science in 1799,
as he carefully unwrapped a specimen from New South Wales.
It was Labeled: "It's a weird one; Caught in a creek; Dug from a burrow with egg nest!"
Mr. Shaw’s heart thumped with suspicion of a prank or fraud, as he noted what he saw:
It had the webbed feet, a rubbery bill, and the eggs of a duck.
It had a wide flat beaver's tail and coarse thick brown fur. 
It had two snake-like fangs, on its hind legs, and small piggy eyes.
It suckled its young with milk, but no nipples were found.
Mr. Shaw looked hard, but found no traces of stitches, glue or bindings.
How can this be? How can this be real? How utterly bizarre?
"Ah! Ah! I know!" God, the creator, has a wicked sense of humor!
Behold! The duck-billed, flat-footed - Platypus!

appaloosa

appaloosa horse
mottled skin and striped hooves
~ stunning specimen



AP: Honorable Mention 2025

A Tale of Tree

I write this as I sit under a tree,
It’s beauty, a specimen of nature, you see;
It’s flower, so warm and bright,
Like the friend who stays with you,
On a summer’s night.
Its leaves, so dainty and green,
Just like a ballerina’s ‘petit’.
The way it sways in the wind, so light and sweet,
Reminds me of carolers on New Year’s Eve.
It has stories left untold,
The rings held in the trunks, old.
Its branches like a friendly embrace amidst a crowd,
Its tender touch to erase all foul.
I bid farewell to thee my tree,
My tree of tales, A tale of tree.

Play with Fire Till Your Fingers Burn

           ~Play With Fire Till your Fingers Burn~
                      5/20/2025

Experience life to its full brink,so sad, to witness any human, being had!
Just try to be a mirror of them, it will drive you  uncontrollaby mad!
The world is the jelly bowl, of jellybeans who just all shine and conform.
And yes, they will step on you, if you are not of their norm.
They’ll run from your space, they won’t talk to you!
As if you were an insane specimen from an abnormal zoo!


To be like all the others, is like a living death, all of your days!
Because what you’ve done, is live in fear, and given your precious soul away..
Just write poetry and make love with lif, and play  with fire,vool, .and 
Let your fingers  type with joy,and fully burn.
They shall never experience life on their timid, lifeless, terms.

You might even find yourself, rarely read.
That is a great sign, go bake a loaf of fresh f.aromatic, cinnamon bread!
I don’t want to find anyone being a jelly bean poet!
If you are a real poet, the first thing to do is to write a lot of the
of the invincible you, with immense courage, please do show it!

            Thank you! Outstanding Poets!

It Ain't Easy Being Humble

If there's one thing to remember as you travel life's highway
We're all made of the same stuff
Bones, skin, hair, and smashing good looks
Oops sorry, not everyone is blessed with good looks like this dude
Mummy and Daddy's genes combined
For an extraordinarily handsome specimen of male virility
Had to fight the girlies off with a big stick
I know, I know, shouldn't be complaining... right!!!
Some of us just have to endure these minor inconveniences 
Hollywood movie stars have much the same “problems”
Have to admit, at first it was very flattering
But that soon wore off and it's now quite a nuisance
Having to sign autographs every time I step outside the door
Guess it's the price us over the top handsome folks have to pay
For the adulation of the adoring throngs
You may ask, “IS THIS GUY SMOKIN' UP?”
Sure sounds kinda whacked out to me, I must say!
Aww! But he's got such a sweet heart
Hang on, hang on, I'll soon be back to my humble self again
I'm sorry... it ain't easy being humble you know!
My tongue's stuck in my cheek!

Honest Doctor

My doctor is like no other,
he treats me like a brother.
Never unfair nor dishonest
in diagnosis or prognosis;
he tells me all just as it is –
a trait he’s known for best.
During my recent physical,
with expertise and acumen,
he revealed nothing amiss,
my health sound and admirable.
And with beaming pride
of a respected professional
said I’d make a fine specimen
in formaldehyde.

More Ups Than Downs

Life has many ups and downs
Personally more ups than downs
A happy life with many more years
A bunch more smiles than frowns

Surely one of the fortunate ones
The genes were a very huge factor
Nine girls and me at a baseball team
Each game we had our own sector

Yup nine girls and then li'l ole me
The talk of our little old berg
The Ellison's have finally had a boy
Biggest news our town had heard

Dancing in the streets all night long
A celebrity at a tender young age
So spoiled with all those girls around
To fawn over this sweet wee babe

Turned out to be a stunning specimen
Can still bring it at eighty-nine!
It's getting to be a lot tougher though
But that's it I'm feeling just fine!

Steampunk Mouse MacIntire

Steampunk mouse had a suit of gears and copper to admire
A fine specimen, great soldier, he had been the king’s squire
But now he was a stylish gentle-mouse, dare he attempt to go higher?
I could become general, he thought, the consequences dire.

Not that, said his mother, to her firstborn son, MacIntire.
I want you to be safe, stay home, sit down near the fire.
Mothers are all the same, he thought, they want you to retire.
But his ambitions were enormous, this steampunk mouse MacIntire.

Corpse Flower

Who would wait in line to smell
A flower that’s so vile
Its odor reeks like rotting flesh,
Quite hard to reconcile

With all the other lovely plants
The Gardens* have on view?
I’m not sure I would make the trip
To check it out; would you?

This specimen, just one of four
To thrive in the U.S.
Has been here seven years, but never
Bloomed with full success.

Its smell will last for several days,
A putrid, corpse-like scent,
Yet strangely, all who waited
Were quite happy that they went.

*The Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Broadway Ballad Christmas Gathering

The Male Belgium Blue
Spieciem #.0009-280
and Female specimen
Brown Swiss--290
( a deluxe wool Hat)
Swiss Maids Uniiform
west cotton that rots
but new she's a doll!
said Bisser Daned to have
the calf in the spring
but his wife wished it for
Christmas thyme and
all the joy it would bring.
Thought the cold winters
harshness
werst the chances
of success.
The newly built insulated
barn
was ready for the test.
He shall feed these cattle
the feed should last
until spring.
The joys of a new calf
and all the milk the calf
will bring.
Eggnog for Christmas
a rummy cultured drink.
Caroling and cigar
smoking.
While nature does
it's thing!

The Cocky Boss

I work for a cocky boss
With whom I can never converse
He always has to have the last word
Everything you say to him appears absurd
He speaks like a judge in a courtroom
Your every word dissected and doomed
He walks aright and with a swagger
In his pocket a hidden dagger
Waiting to dissect the unsuspecting specimen
With cynicism he awaits his next big luncheon

The Golden Oriole

On his twenty-fifth birthday, elated 
He decided to go hunting.
He let the fresh air of the early morning
On the slope of a wooded hill, fill his lungs.
A small vale stretched beneath him, 
Whilst behind the trees rose a small sheer cliff. 

That was where he saw the golden oriole.
 
It was a beautiful specimen, all yellow.
Martin admired its graceful flight. 
And the bird seemed to enjoy itself, too. 
He observed it intently as it glided, soared, turned, 
And flew happily over the old gnarled trees below. 

Suddenly, a hellish black kestrel appeared in the sky. 
It hovered above, eyes glinting, beak poised. 
The oriole sensed it immediately. 
Irrationally, it defied the bird of prey, 
For it continued its fancy flight 
Until the kestrel began its dive. 
Then the oriole flew directly towards the cliff 
And inexplicably disappeared.
It was the worst birthday of Martin’s life.

SIX BABY BLUEBIRDS

Quote: Some believe bluebirds are a symbol of joy and hope or good news arriving soon. Others think of them as a connection between the living and deceased. 

Before your eyes on a warm day of spring you see the first sunrise 
and then you see a little fellow in the skies,
a tiny specimen braving a morning song just before your eyes
 
Atop a tree he flies only to sit on a cup shaped woven nest    
she shouts for joy to her little ones  
there are 6 nestling bluebirds with no downy feathers on their chest 

Tiny peep peep peeps come out of their loosely weaved hotbed   
mama feeds them with her eager beak 
while daddy goes Tu-a-wee, Tu-a-wee, then waits until their fed 

Three weeks old and ready to fly they flap incessantly  
until they learn to fly  
aiming for a clear blue the sky they soar towards eternity  

Six baby bluebirds finally, ... on their way.

Things Never Said to Me

“A genius has been at work
And we know you never shirk
It’s not your fault: you’ve had things tough
You always do more than enough”
These things were never said to me
Although they will one day, maybe…

“You have inherited great lands
You are the one who understands
We have to pay you so much more
You are the one we’ve waited for”
These things were never said to me
Although they will one day, maybe…

“You are the finest specimen of health
We wish to shower you with wealth
Just how have you achieved so much?
We are so grateful for your touch”
These things were never said to me
Although they will one day, maybe…

Disassemble Me

It's something inconclusive
This feeling that I'm not
A perfect human specimen 
Lukewarm compared to hot

I scrutinise the mirror
That I carry in my phone
It tells me of belonging
Yet I feel so far from home

I probably need rebuilding
Like a human Lego set
A different type of perfect
Is the answer I detect

A voice within me cries out
Don't change a single part
I love you as imperfect
'Cos you're perfect for my heart

Let's work on your perspective
Stand right here just next to me
Now tell yourself through my eyes
Not more perfect could you be

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