Tadpoles Ten

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This post comes thanks to Beth, who gave me a gentle nudge to expand on the one verse I wrote for fun.

 

Ten Little Tadpoles

Ten little tadpoles swimming in a pool,

when one little squirt said – call me a fool,

but I don’t want to hang around with you all day –

so he left the other nine and swam his own sweet way.

 

Nine little tadpoles swimming round and round,

when one little tad said – I have found

that swimming round in circles makes me very sick,

so I am quitting this round pond, super darn quick.

 

Eight little tadpoles swimming up the stream,

when one little guy said – in my dream

I saw a world full of tadpole games and toys,

so I plan on getting outta here, girls and boys.

 

Seven little tadpoles swimming up and down

when one little sprog said – you might drown

if all you do is swim and never, ever take a break,

I know that I need rest, I can hardly stay awake.

 

Six little tadpoles swimming up a storm

when one little guy said – I understand the norm

is for tadpoles to grow into frogs one day,

so what are you waiting for? I know I’m on my way.

 

Five little tadpoles swimming in a pond,

when one little girl said – despite our super bond,

I sense a need to explore more of this world –

so off away she paddled, without another word.

 

Four little tadpoles swimming to and fro,

when one little chap said – ready, steady go!

and raced the other three to the farthest shore,

when he looked back, he couldn’t see them any more.

 

Three little tadpoles swimming side by side

when one little wriggler sniffed and cried –

why should my siblings have all the fun?

You two can stay right here, but I’m gonna run.

 

Two little tadpoles swimming half-heartedly,

when one little tiddler said – look here, see

I know you really don’t want me to go,

but let’s be fair, life here is far too slow.

 

One little tadpole gazed up to the sky,

feeling just a bit alone and wondering why

he felt so strange, but the swimming had to stop,

…….and one proud, brave little frog began to hop!

 

 

 

 

 

I confess that though I knew the French for tadpoles, I didn’t know it in my other languages, and the words are awesome and unusually different!

French – têtards

German – Kaulquappen

Italian – girini

Spanish – renacuajos

Dutch – kikkervisjes

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8 Responses to Tadpoles Ten

  1. Diane says:

    Oh I love, love, just love this poem. Your a natural Joanna, leaves my humble ones for dead. Have you ever thought of getting it published? I can already visualize it!

    • Joanna says:

      Wow what an exuberant response. That made my day. Thank you 🙂 Actually Beth’s encouragement in the past has got me thinking VERY tentatively about a book of children’s poetry…. but I think that would be way down the line after a bunch of other projects, and possibly after actually learning something about poetry!!!

      I really don’t think we can compare humorous children’s poetry with serious adult poetry 😉

  2. Thank you, Joanna! I’m delighted that you took up the challenge, and I was giggling out loud at some of the verses!

    Also — I think your list of the languages you speak is awesome, not to mention the cool words for tadpoles!

    • Joanna says:

      Beth, thank you. It actually makes me want to do some learning about poetry. I know I need to work on meter. Need to read more poetry too, of course.

      Yes weren’t they wonderful words for Tadpoles. I especially like the Dutch one!

  3. Hi Joanna, I wonder what happened to the girl tadpole who wanted to explore?! There could be an entire poem devoted to that alone – so so nice! You should join the Poetry Friday going on at the Kidlitosphere. We have been members for so long but we have only recently joined the yahoo groups listserv – I am telling you it’s amazing.

    • Joanna says:

      Hi Myra, thanks for dropping by. Haha indeed, who knows what that little female tadpole discovered in her exploration. Many thanks for the tip about Poetry Friday. I still am discovering so much about the Kidlitosphere, so this was new to me and will most definitely check it out (and the yahoo group).

  4. Patricia Tilton says:

    That was such a lovely poem — I’m really impressed. Loved the rhythm and pace. Which tadpole were you? Kids would love this. You should share it with young students — next year. 🙂

    • Joanna says:

      Thank you, Pat. I was mentioning it to our Grade 1 teacher last week and she asked me to read it to her class, so maybe you are right and I should. 🙂 Still time this year for us as we don’t break up for another couple of weeks.

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