|
|
Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE FIRST STORY, by NATHALIA CRANE First Line: Mid seaweed on a sultry strand, ten thousand years ago Last Line: So he wrote the first of stories with his little fingernail. Subject(s): Babies; Octopuses; Prehistoric Peoples; Writing & Writers; Infants | |||
MID seaweed on a sultry strand, ten thousand years ago, A sun-burned baby sprawling lay, a-playing with his toe. The babe was dreaming of the day that he might swing a club, When lo! He saw a fishy thing, a-squirming in the mud. The creature was an octopus, and dangerous to pat, But the prehistoric infant never stopped to think of that. The baby's fingernails were sharp, his appetite was prime, He clutched that deep-sea monster, for 'twas nearing supper-time. Oh! Suddenly, from out the pulp a fluid black did flow, 'Twas flavored like a barberry wine and gave a sort of glow; It squirted in the baby's eyes; it made him gasp and blink, But to that octopus he held, and drank up all the ink. The ink was in the baby—he was bound to write a tale; So he wrote the first of stories with his little fingernail. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A POET TO HIS BABY SON by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON BABYHOOD by ELIZABETH AKERS ALLEN INFANCY by EDMUND JOHN ARMSTRONG BALLAD OF THE LAYETTE by WAYNE KOESTENBAUM A TOAST FOR LITTLE IRON MIKE by PAUL MARIANI THE PAMPERING OF LEORA by THYLIAS MOSS ONE FOR ALL NEWBORNS by THYLIAS MOSS IN THE THRIVING SEASON by LISEL MUELLER |
| |