Dina Anastasio

Poems about manners

From Tread Softly
Poems about animal behavior


I THOUGHT IT WAS A TWIG

I almost snapped a walking stick.
It wasn't very big.
I was strolling through the woods,
And thought it was a twig.

The walking stick lay taut and still.
It almost fooled me,
Until I saw it shudder as
My fingers touched the tree.

I almost snapped a walking stick.
It wasn't very big.
Until its body trembled,
I thought it was a twig.



THE BEAVER

The beaver pond is frozen now.
The beaver's lodge is silent.
I cannot see him come and go.
No ripples shift the quiet.

But somewhere just beneath the ice,
The beaver slips away
To search for food,
Then he returns
And sleeps another day.

I've seen him carry twigs and clay.
I've seen him build his dome.
I hope he thought to weave a door,
To close when he comes home.



IN A LINE

Why do those ducklings stay in that line,
Following their mother time after time?
Isn't there one who wishes to follow
An ant, or a tiger, a turtle, or swallow?

One of those ducklings must yearn to explore
The shadows of caves or a shell on the shore.
So why do they stay there, time after time,
Following their mother in that neat little line?




I WONDER WHY

I guess that I will never see
A swallow in a perfect V
Of snow geese far up in the sky.
I wonder why.
I'll never see a jay take wing
Because he hears a robin sing,
Or watch an eagle in the sky
Teach a blackbird how to fly.
I wonder why.

POLLUTION(from OCEAN POEMS)
When things pollute our lovely seas
Do turtles shudder? Do dolphins sneeze?
Do whales blow harder when they find
An oil spill creeping close behind?
When plastic wraps a small starfish,
Does it twirl and swirl and flail and swish?
And when those factories dump their waste
Do lobsters really like that taste?
Do sea snakes wonder as they roam
Why people still pollute their home?