Critters, Creatures and Creations

By David Fox

Copyright 2015, 2019

Foxtales

www.foxtalesny@weebly.com
foxtalesny@outlook.com
3 AUDIOBOOK COLLECTIONS

6 BOOK COLLECTIONS
 About the Author

David Fox, despite being born with

Cerebral Palsy and having suffered from
mental illness in his 20's, has written
poems for children and adults for over 20
years.

His children's nature poetry has appeared

in Bell's Letters, Ceremony, Great South
Bay Magazine, Humoresque, The Oak,
Opossum Holler Tarot, Performance Poet's
Association (PPA) Literary Review #14,
Poetic Expressions, Poets' Roundtable,
Reflections, SMILE, Tale Spinners
(Canada), Visions, Wanton Words,
Whispers of Poetry and Write On!! Poetry
Magazette.

This is his second book of poetry. The first,

The Halloween Masquerade was a
narrative children's book. The Illustrator &
Creative Director, Jessica Fox has done
both for this book and The Halloween
Masquerade.

Thank you to Jessica Fox for undertaking

every drawing in this book.
 Nature's Song

It all started with the bluebells

Who rang a special song,
The canaries and the crickets
All started to chirp along
The chipmunks chittered and the squirrels
skittered
In perfect harmony
All of nature worked together
To create the perfect symphony

*Previously published in Write On!! Poetry Magazette

Nature

I look at each and every Godly creation

And sometimes it gives me inspiration
The sun so bright, the birds that sing,
I enjoy Nature's everything.

*Previously published in Poets' Roundtable

 Sunsets

Sunsets come and sunsets go

From red to blue to indigo
When the sun's not shining, they shine
bright,
They're nature's way of saying "Good
night."

*First published in SMILE

Re-printed in Poetic Expressions

My Haiku

The rising sun

On the calm meadow plane
Casts its own shadow.

*Previously published in Tales Spinners

 My Sunflower

May you grow, my sunflower

So you can peer over the gate
And all can see your beauty:
Your middle a dark brown,
Your petals an exquisite yellow,
So grow, my sunflower,
Grow for me!

Flowered Farewell

So that you
Will forget-me-not
I will kiss
Your tu-lips.
 A Rose Story

One day a rose awoke from her bed,

She yawned a little and she said:
"Hello there, Miss Queen Anne's Lace,
What a pretty look you have upon your
face."
She commanded the rest, one and all,
To stand up straight, stems and all.
She scolded all the shrinking violets
To stop their talking, and be silent
She reminded all the lilies of the valley
To stop all of their "dilly-dally."
Along came a gentle breeze
That came through the willow trees
A voice, it has been said,
Remarked, "Dear rose, go back to bed."

*First published in The Oak

Re-printed in Performance Poetry Association (PPA)
Literary Review #14
 Fish Wish

Sometimes I wish I was a fish

For if I were one of those
I could swim in the ocean
Without getting water up my nose.

*Previously published in Humoresque

Haiku

Tiny goldfish
Swims quickly in his bowl
To avoid the cat

*First published in Wanton Words

Re-printed in Ceremony
 Rainbow-Catcher

Oh, how I want to catch a rainbow in the

sky
But first I must learn to fly
Because rainbows exist way up high
Maybe I could borrow an angel's wing
Oh how do I hope, because
Rainbows are such wondrous things!

Rainbows

After the last raindrops have fallen

I look up in the sky
And see beaming colors:
Red, orange, yellow,
Green, blue, indigo, violet
At the end of the rainbow
I know there is no pot of gold
But I am happy
Knowing it will return someda1y.

*First published in Visions

Re-printed in Poets' Roundtabte
 If I Could Be a Mockingbird

If I could be a mockingbird
And fly above the world
I could hear the gossip
Perched on the telephone line
I could go to the park
And dine on popcorn
I could take a vacation every winter
Oh, what a simplistic life it would be,
A mockingbird listening on the world

*Previously published in Reflections

The Canary's Song

I look up in the sky

And what do I see?
A pretty canary singing to me.
Such a lovely sound from
Such a beautiful bird
Even though he never says a word
 The Spirit Girl

She dances with such charm and grace

She wears flowers in her hair and
dresses of lace
She keeps a garden and watches it grow
She kisses the sky just to say hello
She dances to the wind's music with a
twist and a twirl
That's the legend of the spirit girl.

*Previously published in SMILE

 Little Mary Sunshine

Little Mary Sunshine

Smiles as brightly as the Sun
For she knows it shines
Not just for her but for everyone
Little Mary Sunshine
Looks at the mountain's purple haze
Little Mary Sunshine
Takes time to watch the cows graze
Little Mary Sunshine
Watches the flowers grow
Little Mary Sunshine
Catches every rainbow
Little Mary Sunshine
Smiles all the time
Thus her name
Little Mary Sunshine

*Previously published in Bell's Letters

 Finicky Feline

Cat to his owner:

"I don't want cat food today
I think I want steak."
I Love Cats!
I love cats!
So fuzzy, furry,
Always purring,
I love cats!
Playing is their thing,
They'll paw at
A ball of string,
I love cats!
But there's one thing
I don't know,
I just can't figure out how
They can communicate with other cats
With their one-word vocabulary
"MEOW"?

*Previously published in Visions

 Insects
Wouldn't It be neat
If worms had feet?
I wish I could see
A tap-dancing bee
If spiders could talk
And ladybugs walk
Oh, what fun that would be!

Bee
See the bee as it flies towards me
Please I'll give you anything
Just don't let this bee sting
I'll give you a leg,
I'll give you an arm
Please, just don't let this bee do any harm.

The Insect's Wedding

The insect and the fly got married one day
Her friend the yellow jacket gave her away
The praying mantis was the priest
Following the ceremony was a nice feast
Everything from baby crickets to honey
They got china and silver and lots of money
After the wedding on the honeymoon they went
It really was a great event!
 Ruckus in the Barnyard

The farmer was about to kill

The pig of the fattest weight
When pig cried out,
"I don't want to be on your plate!"
"Okay," said the farmer
And took out his gun again
This time to kill the fattest hen
When the hen stopped him short,
And said, "Dear farmer, I've chicks to
support!"
The pig and the hen took a sigh of relief
And the farmer was out for beef
When the cow stopped him too
When she said, "How can you kill me after
all I've given you?"
So instead of a killing spree
The farmer had carrots, lettuce and
broccoli!

*Previously published in SMILE

The Frog and the Dog

There once were a frog and a dog
Who both were resting on al log
At the end of the day
They had drifted away
Into the deep blue fog.
 Animal Thoughts

Do I dare
Roar like a bear?
Is it absurd
To want to fly like a bird?
Sometimes I am tryin'
To be a king like a lion
But there's only one thing I can be
And that one thing is ME!

Lion

The lion is staring at me

And I have a hunch
That if I don't escape quickly
I just may be his lunch!

*Previously published in Humoresque

 Daisy

One little daisy

In a medley of flowers
Awaiting notice
A little boy picks it up,
Caresses it against his face,
He smiles, and the daisy glows,
Fluorescent, as if it is smiling too

*First published in Opossum Holler Tarot

Re-printed in Whispers of Poetry

Butterfly

It starts out as caterpillar

Crawling on the ground
It makes a new place, A new home is found
It starts out day by day And sooner or later
A butterfly flies away.

*Previously published in Bell's Letters

 Winter Footprints
One day I saw some footprints
Right there in the snow
And as I walked by I couldn't help but
notice
They're following me as I go
It's funny how snow makes the ground
white
Although it was once green
But the snow-covered earthen floor
Makes the former color unseen.
I wonder who made these prints
Was it beast or child?
Maybe it was the postman
Or a creature from the wild?
I'll never know for sure, I guess,
Maybe It's best not to know,
I'll simply sit here and take in
The sight of the beautiful snow.

* First published in SMILE

Re-printed in Great South Bay Magazine

Kids are excited

All around the neighborhood
Another snow day!
 Penguin
He lives in the freezing cold of Antarctica
With all the Eskimos
His black and white skin
Makes him look like
He's wearing a tuxedo
He walks and swims but I bet
The majority of the time
He's just trying to stay warm.

Of all the poems

Ever written on snowflakes
No two are alike

Snow Show
Snow falls gently on the ground
Not making a single sound
It is soft and pure, not wild and free,
Creating winter's pageantry!

*Previously published in Poetic Expressions

 The Littlest-Known Dinosaur

The Littlest-Known Dinosaur

There once was a dinosaur
With a huge vocabulary
Intimidated by this
The others grew wary
With the intelligence
He charted a book
Of words, so others may look
For a word with a meaning
That was same
Or opposite of another word
If that was their aim
So what was the creature's name
That was smarter than a stegosaurus?
It was the littlest-known dinosaur
Known as the thesaurus.
 Bedtime Question

Nighttime approaches
With the silvery moon
It will be bedtime soon.
A little boy asks,
"Mom does rain happen
When the clouds weep?"
"Maybe", she answers,
"Now go to sleep."

I Hear the Wind Often

I hear the wind often, but it doesn't say

much
With a strong forceful manner,
Or a soft gentle touch
It whistles and whispers, murmurs and
such
I hear the wind often but it doesn't say
much
 Special Thanks

To the ladies that encouraged my love of

Poetry:

My Mom,

Mrs. Leff, English Teacher from High

School,

Professor Pat Falk

&
Ms. Van Clair, Poetry Advisor

And to Joel Evans for editing this book to

make it available for digital formats.
3 AUDIOBOOK COLLECTIONS

6 BOOK COLLECTIONS