Poetry Friday

Last week I reviewed Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day for my other blog. It's one of my favorite stories from childhood and I've read it over and over again. What I hadn't read is many of the other works by Judith Viorst, whose children's books have graced my shelves for years now. So when I was on Poets.org recently I happened to notice that they had a poem or two of hers. I love this one. The repetition, the humor, the childlike rhymes. I simply had to share it.

Mother Doesn't Want a Dog
by Judith Viorst

Mother doesn't want a dog.
Mother says they smell,
And never sit when you say sit,
Or even when you yell.
And when you come home late at night
And there is ice and snow,
You have to go back out because
The dumb dog has to go.

Mother doesn't want a dog.
Mother says they shed,
And always let the strangers in
And bark at friends instead,
And do disgraceful things on rugs,
And track mud on the floor,
And flop upon your bed at night
And snore their doggy snore.

Mother doesn't want a dog.
She's making a mistake.
Because, more than a dog, I think
She will not want this snake.