Poems for Children

A FLY

Baby Bye,
Here's a fly;
Let us watch him, you and I.
     How he crawls
     Up the walls;
     Yet he never falls !

I believe with six such legs
You and I could walk on eggs.
     There he goes
     On his toes
     Tickling baby's nose.

Spots of red
Dot his head;
Rainbows on his back are spread.
     That small speck
     Is his neck;
     See him nod and beck.

I can show you, if you choose
Where to look to find his shoes
     Three small pairs
     Made of hairs;
     These he always wears.

He can eat
Bread and meat;
There's his mouth between his feet.
     When it rains
     He complains
     On the window-panes.

Tongues to talk have you and I;
God has given the little fly
     No such things;
     So he sings
     With his buzzing wings.

In the sun
Webs are spun,
What if he gets into one?
     Little fly,
     Ope your eye;
     Spiders are near by;

And a secret I can tell
Spiders never use flies well.
     Then away,
     Do not stay.
     Little fly, good day.

- Theodore Titian