First Poems

First Poems for Learners of English

What for?

• to learn by heart,
• to write in your scrap book,
• to draw colourful pictures,
• to recite at meetings and parties,
• simply to enjoy and to have fun

Me and my family

My family

This here is my father,

he is very tall,

this here is my brother,

he is very small,

this here is my sister,

she is fond of tea,

this here is my mother,

she is fond of me.

Father, brother,

sister, mother -

all these are my family.

My body

My teeth are white,

my eyes are blue,

my lips are red

they speak to you.

I have two feet,

two hands, you see,

two ears, one nose

and this is me.

My hands have ten fingers,

my feet have ten toes,

I write with my fingers,

I dance on my toes.

Animals

MICE

I think mice

are rather nice.

Their tails are long,

their faces small,

they haven't any

chins at all.

Their ears are pink,

their teeth are white,

they run about

the house at night.

They nibble things

they should not touch

and no-one seems

to like them much.

But I think mice

are nice.

Grizzly Bear

If you ever, ever, ever

meet a grizzly bear,

You must never, never, never

ask him where

he is going or

what he is doing.

For if you ever, ever dare

to stop a grizzly bear,

you will never meet another

grizzly bear !

Is this an eagle or is it a bear?

Ten little monkeys

Ten little monkeys were jumping on the bed

One fell off and bumped his head

Mama called the doctor and he doctor said:

"That's what you get for jumping on the bed!"

Cows don't fly

A little bird flying by

Dropped a letter from the sky.

"oh," said the farmer, cleaning his eye,

"I'm very glad that cows don't fly."

Butterfly

More than once have I

dreamed I was a butterfly,

a part of nature's plan.

Now, I do not know if I

am, in fact, a butterfly

dreaming I'm a man.

Sardines

A baby sardine

Saw her first Submarine.

She was scared and watched through a peephole.

'Oh come, come, come,'

Said the sardine's mum,

'It's only a tin full of people.'

Spike Milligan

Miscellany

Clocks and Watches

Our great

steeple clock

goes TICK - TOCK,

TICK - TOCK;

Our small

mantel clock

goes TICK-TACK, TICK-TACK

TICK-TACK, TICK-TACK;

Our little

Pocket watch

Goes tick-a-tacker, tick-a-tacker,

tick-a-tacker, tick.

I eat my peas with honey,

I've done it all my life.

It makes the peas taste funny,

But it keeps them on the knife.

The Test

Good - better - best

We had an English test

Some did badly

Some did worse

But mine was the best!

Counting rhymes (Abzählverse)

One two three four five -

Once I caught a fish alive,

six seven eight nine ten -

then I let it go again!

Why then did you let it go?

Because it bit my finger so.

Which finger did it bite?

The little finger on the right!

Days of the week

Busy Daisy

Washes on Monday

Irons on Tuesday

Shops on Wednesday

Sews on Thursday

Cleans on Friday

Bakes on Saturday

Dances on Sunday

This is what Daisy

does every week.

Lazy Daisy

Sleeps on Monday

Wakes on Tuesday

Washes on Wednesday

Dresses on Thursday

Plays on Friday

Sings on Saturday

Dances on Sunday

This is what Daisy

does every week.

Solomon Grundy

Born on a Monday

Christened on Tuesday

Married on Wednesday

Took ill on Thursday

Worse on Friday

Died on Saturday

Buried on Sunday

This is the end

of Solomon Grundy.

The seasons

THE YEAR

In January there is lots of snow,

All our cheeks and noses glow.

In February there is rain and ice,

To stay indoors is very nice.

In March the winds blow from the sea,

We sit by the fire to drink our tea.

Then April comes with lots of showers,

A little sun and pretty flowers.

May and June and then July,

Summer is here, cold days good-bye!

August brings us lots of sun,

Lots of ice-cream, lots of fun.

September makes the apples round,

October drops them to the ground.

We play indoors in wet November,

My friends come round and visit me,

Another month and then December

With Christmas and the Christmas tree.

Winter

Autumn is over,

snow´s everywhere,

birds on the white grass

and frost in the air.

Coming round the corner

On his tip,tip toes,

Winter, winter, winter

with a cold red nose.

The snowman

Take a snowball,

put it on the ground,

push it, roll it,

make it big and round.

Look, your snowman

is big and tall.

but has no eyes,

no nose at all.

Two stones will do

and a carrot, too.

Now, Mr Snowman,

How are you?

Thirty days has September

April, June and November,

all the rest has thirty-one

excepting February alone,

and that has twenty-eight days clear

and twenty-nine in each leap year.

Love and friendship

Lost

Lost my shoes in San Francisco,

Lost my passport in Bombay,

In Hongkong I lost my money,

Sat in prison for ten days.

Lost my car in Mississippi,

Lost my sleep in Katmandu,

Safe back home in London city

There I lost my heart to you!

(Tell me, where are all these funny places?)

IF...

If only I had plenty of money

I´d buy you some flowers and I´buy you some honey.

I´d buy a boat and I´d buy you a sail,

I´d buy you a cat with a long bushy tail.

I´d buy you a church and I´d buy you a bell,

I´d buy you a ring and a necklace as well.

I´d buy you the moon and I´d buy you the sun,

Oh, money, money - I wish I had some.

East is east, and west is west,

Of all the girls I like you best.

Written with a pen

sealed with a kiss

If you are my friend

Please answer this:

Are we friends or are we not?

You told me once, but I forgot.

So tell me now and tell me true,

So I can say, I am here for you.

Of all the friends I have ever met,

You are the one I won't forget.

And If I'll die before you do

I'll go to heaven and wait for you.

See also

• tongue twisters
• Limericks