For Poetry Friday- The Germ

We had one in our house this week--

The Germ, by Ogden Nash

A mighty creature is the germ,
Though smaller than the pachyderm.
His customary dwelling place
Is deep within the human race.
His childish pride he often pleases
By giving people strange diseases.
Do you, my poppet, feel infirm?
You probably contain a germ.

I found this poem in a rather nice anthology, Whisper and Shout--Poems to Memorize, edited by Patrice Vecchione. Some of the poems I knew already, others, like this one, were new to me. The poems here are divided into clusters--poems of family and friends, the natural world, wisdom and wonder, etc., which adds structure and provides food for thought. An anthology of poems is a lot like some else making for you a bag of mixed candy--they might put in coconut creams, instead of chocolate caramels. So having been provided with categories, it is fun to play the "what would I include game."

One thing I liked a lot about this book is that it is not illustrated. This book places great importance on the memorization of poems, something I think is wonderful. This week I am of the opinion that children should be free to imagine their own pictures, as an aid to memorization....