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Watch Out!
Now, “The Three Little Pigs” is a tale
More for cautioning than for amusing:
Learn its lessons and you may prevail;
Heed them not, and you may end up losing.
For we, none of us, live in a bubble
Free from entropy, rust, or destruction;
Try to build and you’re bound to find trouble—
Yes, at every last stage of construction.
Choose with care all your mortar and lumber;
Build your walls up most sturdy and stable.
When it’s time to keep vigil, don’t slumber;
Keep your guard up as much as you’re able.
For as soon as it seems you’re successful,
That old wolf will come, puffing and blowing,
And while knowledge of this may feel stressful,
Half the battle is in the foreknowing.
.
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For Best Results
Never trust a toilet seat,
__whether at home or on the town,
whether cleaners left it up,
__whether users left it down.
Don’t assume there’s paper there
__to wipe with when you’re done.
Better be sure, because to air-
__dry’s never ever fun.
Make sure the lock works on the stall—
__don’t let a stranger see…
For best results, to sum up all,
__it’s: Look before you pee!
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My Own
“So much depends upon a red wheel barrow,”
That is what William Carlos Williams said.
I rather wish he hadn’t been so narrow,
For mine is mustard yellow, not bright red.
But still another point has left me stricken,
Besides my barrow’s most distinctive hue:
It’s that I haven’t got a single chicken
In my back yard to park the thing next to.
And where am I to get that rainy glaze?
In such a clime as mine, I do not know;
With arid air and mostly sunny days,
We get our moisture mainly from the snow.
Ah, well, it’s no real cause for me to moan—
I’ll just live out a poem of my own.
.
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A Pennsylvania native now residing in Colorado, Anna J. Arredondo is an engineer by education, a home educator by choice, and by preference, a poet. She also has poems published (or forthcoming) in The Lyric, Time of Singing, Light, Blue Unicorn, Better Than Starbucks, and WestWard Quarterly.
Enjoyed all three, Anna. Very clever, fun and relatable
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Thank you!
I also enjoyed them Anna, especially “My Own.” Who needs a red wheel barrow anyway? Thanks for the fun reads.
Agreed! Yellow wheel barrows buck the trend.
Thank you, Russel! Who, indeed? I must admit, when I was wheelbarrow shopping years ago, I was on the lookout for a red one all because of WCW’s poem. Fortunately, my husband was with me, and steered me to the best, albeit yellow, option!
Dear Anna,
Each poem contains the wisdom and humor that are born of experience.
“Whether cleaners left it up, or users left it down,” is a musical and fun line, and on such a topic!
Thank you for these.
Gigi
Dear Gigi,
Thank you so much for your comment. I had to smile when you said, “and on such a topic”, because I have had your poem on “days of poop and vomit” on my to-read list since I saw it in my inbox… I will get to it soon!
Ah, the lessons of the three little pigs is a wise one which you have admirably summed up as “Half the battle is in the foreknowing.” The other half is in taking action on that foreknowledge. Not everyone does. Public toilet seats are indeed a quandary that has special inspection requirements for the women. I never paid attention to the color of wheelbarrows in the past. Mine was green by the way. Anna, you never fail to entertain with unusual thoughts, keen insights, and wise words.
Thank you for your kind words, Roy. Indeed, regardless of the color, a good wheelbarrow becomes a faithful friend as long as it gets the job(s) done!
The three little pigs poem is my favorite, Anna! I’m sure you must have seen John Branyan’s “Shakespearean” retelling of the tale (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxoUUbMii7Q). You capture the humor but with a stronger moral point. As Roy echoes above, “half the battle is in the foreknowing,” indeed!
Rachel, thank you so much for your comment(s)! In fact I had not ever seen John Branyan’s delightful retelling of The Three Little Pigs, so many thanks for sharing the link. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and plan to show it to my kids soon.
An enjoyable trio, Anna.
When I was a kid, two of the three little pigs got eaten by the wolf, while the wolf got boiled alive in a cauldron of water when he attempted to come down the chimney. These days, the two pigs in the flimsier houses flee to the brick house and the wolf retreats back up the chimney with nothing worse than a scalded botty!
Thanks for the reads.
Yes, I have encountered both versions you mentioned, as well as many other spinoffs. Thanks for your comment!
Lively and amusing, all 3, Anna.
You’re right on the wheelbarrow:
Bother the color. What matters is all you can cart with it:
Overgrown vines, shingles old and new, dirt … Never part with it!
Thank you, Julian. Yes, bother the color, I have no intention of parting with my wonderful wheelbarrow any time soon!
These were all great to read with valuable life lessons. I really enjoyed the construction of Watch Out. It’s hard to keep those double end rhymes going but it seemed to add emphasis to the meaning behind the text. Great job.
Thank you very much, Warren.
I can’t wait to see, Anna, your treatments of “Little Red Riding Hood”, “the Boy Who Cried Wolf” and “Goldilocks …”, not to mention “Billy-Goat Gruff”.
Ah, C.B., that sounds like a fun challenge! We shall see (but don’t hold your breath)…
Anna, I love these quirky takes on the hardships we face in life. When truth meets beauty the message shines – and I am basking in your muse’s glow. I’ve always been wary of wolves, toilet seats, and red wheelbarrows. You are a poetess after my own heart! Great stuff!
Susan, many thanks for your generous comment! I hope to get my act together some day soon and jump back into reading and commenting (and hopefully writing some more, too!)…