First Poems

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Mice are nice.jpg

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.
Mice are nice.jpg

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