:: Sentenced for Life ::

Poems

On this page we have included your poems! Due to size and
space constraints we could not include all of your submissions;
however, we have included quite a few for you to read.
Please take a look at your own pages!

Fancy eggs
Once I saw a robin
She built a nest in my yard
On one of the largest tree
She came every day
Wove the nest bigger
and bigger, Next day
She came and laid some eggs

~ Jaime, Age 12, USA ~

Prisoner
Please look at me
My face pressed against
the bars
Don't turn your back
Don't poison me
All I want is to be set free
so I can be nibbling, peeking,
squeaking, and climbing.

~ Noah, Age 13, USA ~

All days we sleep
Eyes slightly open
Pressing snouts,
entwining tails

~ Molly, Age 9, USA ~

A Giraffe
Once I knit a scarf
for a giraffe
I took it to him so he could
wear but when he tried
it on it was too short
a scarf for a giraffe
has to be at least
seventy feet long!

~ Alexandria, Age 7, USA ~

My Special Dog
My dog is so special to me
She listens when I talk and
Responds with a bark
She follows me on my walk and
Makes sure I will not get lost
She wipes my tears when I am sad
She kisses me when I am glad
My dearest dog,
No one can do this to me
Except you...

~ Lisa, Age 9, USA ~

Wake me up
One day I overslept
And missed the school bus
Not hearing the alarm clock
Next day I took my cat in my bed
I didn't hear the alarm again
But when it was time
My cat purred and cuddled
And woke me up with her warm fur!

~ Balaji, Age 14, India ~

Understand me
My cat comes to me and purrs
Then I look at her and say,
"good kitty!"
I stroked her fur gently
She purred again and laid on my lap
Although I didn't purr back
I know he understood me
Just like I understood him
I love my cat!

~ Tiffany, Age 9, USA ~

The Perfect Pet
The pet that is strongly hated, By many a person indeed,
Even though it is not evil, Its reputation can mislead.

Persecuted through the ages, Until finally someone thought,
To bring it into their own home,
And into their home it was brought.

Through very careful breeding, And with a kind and caring hand,
An affectionate creature came to be,
That learned to love us; the man.

The rat is now domesticated, A pet that shows us love,
An animal that instilled such fear,
Is now considered an angel from above.

~ Melissa K, Age 13, USA ~

Ode to a Rat
Always poking, always peeking,
Climbing, jumping, sometimes squeaking,
Twitching whiskers, cunning faces,
Hiding in the strangest places!
Nibbling here and napping there,
Always finds the time to spare
A fuzzy "kiss" upon my cheek.
Sometimes I wish that you could speak!
Bright eyes shining full of love,
A furry gift from up above.
Always glad to have me near.
Such a treasure! What a dear!
Folks can have their cats and dogs,
Horses, snakes, and even frogs.
For me you stand out from the rest.
No doubt about it a RAT'S the best!

~ Janie, USA ~

My Rat
My Rat was sleeping in his nest.
His eyes were closed, he needed rest.
But I still could not resist!
Would he mind if he were kissed?
I picked him up and kissed his head,
And then I put him back to bed.

~ Anonymous Submission ~

Splash
Sit on my tail and we can go for a ride
Through the blue and sparkling waters
Leaping, splashing, diving, and playing
There's a lot I could show you
If you stop harpooning me

~ Paige, Age 12, USA ~

BELLA LINDA THE RAT
sleek,elegant,beautiful and true
always grooming me to say I love you
I pet her head,she licks my finger
can't believe I ever lived without her
My BELLA Linda I adore her
my rat and I are friends forever

~ Katey Parson, USA ~

Rat
Speak of the loveliness of paws,
each delicate grey toe, soft
as bunting, each arch lifting
finely in its practiced way.

Notice the pink cupped ears,
thin, translucent, glowing
like light between our fingers held
to flame, soft ears ruffling
as leaves at the slightest
breath of something not its own
and not its own heard stirring.

See how the nose will lift then, testing
the warm brown night for sound,
each whisker ending in a point of light
from fire burned low enough for sleeping,
each eye a wet black stone.

We sleep lightly, worlds away
from what is yielding grace
behind our bureaus, between
stacked logs, wherever night
permits the secret showing ~ forth.

~ Anonymous Submission ~

My Pet
All day they sleep, their eyes still open,
Pressing snouts, entwining tails.
They leap;
The ground is fain to hold them
Their lithe precision never fails.
They catch the faded beams of lamplight;
Hold them in their fiery eyes.
Beneath the fur two minds are working
Learned, maybe no, but wise.
The strongest wire cannot hold them
Heart and spirit both are free.
Captivity can never tame them,
Dim their bright vivacity.
Their species reigns despised but dauntless;
Sure of its supremacy.
No primate ever can exceed
Their sheer adaptability.
For centuries we've tried to crush them
Poisoned, trapped and even shot.
The fact that they are still alive
Has proved them a resilient lot.
And a yet a few of us have found
The necessary love and trust
Which ultimately may become
The bridge between the rats, and us.

~ JK, Age 15, UK ~

If You Keep a Rat in a Cage
If you keep a rat in a cage the rat will lose the impulse to bite you.
Will take food from your hand gently, before running away with it, back into the corner.
Will climb above on the perches like a bird in the night.
Will race to the cage door in the dark and watch you pass, hoping.
Will press its face against the bars, against the floor as you pet it, as you stroke it kindly with one finger.
Will perch on your shoulder, and run around inside your coat, and try not to pee on you.

If you keep a rat in a cage, and you leave your best wool sweater there too close by,
the rat will drag it in, pull it through the narrow opening between the bars
with a strength that seems supernatural, and tear the crap out of it,
pull the shreds together in a huge rat's nest and sleep in it, happily shrouded in closeness to you.

If you keep a rat in a cage, there is no guarantee the rat will come to love you,
but chances are good. As is the likelihood the rat will be authentic in its affection;
will be constant and return the good treatment in kind. And if the rat escapes,
the chance is strong it will return from beneath the eaves, chattering,
turning its head to one side, showing one red rat eye, unblinking,
entreating, freedom is not so much, take me back in.

~ Anonymous Submission ~