Section: «Poems»

Verse (ancient Greek ὁ στίχος — row, structure), a term in versification used in several meanings: artistic speech organized by division into rhythmically commensurate segments; poetry in the narrow sense; in particular, it implies the properties of versification of a particular tradition ("antique verse", "Akhmatova's verse", etc.); a line of poetic text organized according to a certain rhythmic pattern ("My uncle of the most honest rules").

Eat Your Words

I am a veggie tableA table made of veg,There’s so much fruit upon meAll living on the edge,Life is hardBut so are platesAnd tea can be quite hot,And..

© Benjamin Zephaniah

Neighbours

I am the type you are supposed to fearBlack and foreignBig and dreadlocksAn uneducated grass eater.I talk in tonguesI chant at nightI appear..

© Benjamin Zephaniah

Wot A Pair

I waz walking down Wyefront streetWhen me trousers ran away,I waz feeling incompleteBut still me trousers would not stay,When I found where they had..

© Benjamin Zephaniah

Who's Who

I used to think nursesWere women,I used to think policeWere men,I used to think poetsWere boring,Until I became one of them.

© Benjamin Zephaniah

The Race Industry

The coconuts have got the jobs.The race industry is a growth industry.We despairing, they careering.We want more peace they want more police.The..

© Benjamin Zephaniah

De Rong Song

Your house isFalling downAroundYourFeet,And you gotNoughtTo eat,Don't worryBe happy.Your fishHave drownedYou wearA frown,You searchBut you don'tOwn a..

© Benjamin Zephaniah

Fair Play

Mirror mirror on the wallCould you please return our ballOur football went through your crackYou have two nowGive one back.

© Benjamin Zephaniah

White Comedy

I waz whitemailedBy a white witch,Wid white magicAn white lies,Branded by a white sheepI slaved as a whitesmithNear a white spotWhere I suffered..

© Benjamin Zephaniah

Everybody Is Doing It

In Hawaii they HulaThey Tango in ArgentinaThey Reggae in JamaicaAnd they Rumba down in Cuba,In Trinidad and TobagoThey do the CalypsoAnd in Spain the..

© Benjamin Zephaniah

Dis Poetry

Dis poetry is like a riddim dat dropsDe tongue fires a riddim dat shoots like shotsDis poetry is designed fe rantinDance hall style, big mouth..

© Benjamin Zephaniah

Nature Trail

At the bottom of my gardenThere's a hedgehog and a frogAnd a lot of creepy-crawliesLiving underneath a log,There's a baby daddy long legsAnd an..

© Benjamin Zephaniah

We Refugees

I come from a musical placeWhere they shoot me for my songAnd my brother has been torturedBy my brother in my land.I come from a beautiful placeWhere..

© Benjamin Zephaniah

Talking Turkeys!

Be nice to yu turkeys dis christmasCos' turkeys just wanna hav funTurkeys are cool, turkeys are wickedAn every turkey has a Mum.Be nice to yu turkeys..

© Benjamin Zephaniah

The British

Take some Picts, Celts and SiluresAnd let them settle,Then overrun them with Roman conquerors.Remove the Romans after approximately 400 yearsAdd lots..

© Benjamin Zephaniah

Suzanna socked me Sunday

Suzanna socked me Sunday,she socked me Monday, too,she also socked me Tuesday,I was turning black and blue.She socked me double Wednesday,and..

© Jack Prelutsky

I Went Hungry on Thanksgiving

I was hungry on ThanksgivingBut I couldn't eat a thingI couldn't eat a drumstickAnd I couldn't eat a wingI couldn't have the picklesOr the gravy..

© Jack Prelutsky

A Wolf Is At The Laundromat

A wolf is at the Laundromat,it's not a wary stare-wolf,it's short and fat, it tips its hat,unlike a scary glare-wolf.It combs its hair, it clips its..

© Jack Prelutsky

Pumberly Pott's Unpredictable Niece

Pumberly Pott's unpredictable niecedeclared with her usual zealthat she would devour, by piece after piece,her uncle's new automobile.She set to her..

© Jack Prelutsky

A Pizza the Size of the Sun

I'm making a pizza the size of the sun,a pizza that's sure to weigh more than a ton,a pizza too massive to pick up and toss,a pizza resplendent with..

© Jack Prelutsky

I met a dragon face to face

I met a dragon face to facethe year when I was ten,I took a trip to outer space,I braved a pirate's den,I wrestled with a wicked troll,and fought a..

© Jack Prelutsky

Herbert Glerbett

Herbert Glerbett, rather round,swallowed sherbet by the pound,fifty pounds of lemon sherbetwent inside of Herbert Glerbett.With that glob inside his..

© Jack Prelutsky

Deep In Our Refrigerator

Deep in our refrigerator,there's a special placefor food that's been around awhile...we keep it, just in case.'It's probably too old to eat,'my..

© Jack Prelutsky

Homework! Oh, Homework!

Homework! Oh, Homework!I hate you! You stink!I wish I could wash you away in the sink,if only a bombwould explode you to bits.Homework! Oh..

© Jack Prelutsky

Super Samson Simpson

I am Super Samson Simpson,I'm superlatively strong,I like to carry elephants,I do it all day long,I pick up half a dozenand hoist them in the..

© Jack Prelutsky

Dora Diller

'My stomach's full of butterflies! 'lamented Dora Diller.Her mother sighed. 'That's no surprise,you ate a caterpillar! '

© Jack Prelutsky