Poems of Creatures Large and Small

by Gail Harvey (Editor)

Poems of Creatures Large and Small reaffirm the miracle of life and the wonder of the world around us and those who inhabit it.

Genres: Poetry

64 pages, Hardcover

First published March 11, 1991

Reviews

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s something about seeing people love and ponder animals for hundreds of years that makes me feel so connected to people of the past. I loved seeing peoples love for their pets and seeing people compare their lives to the lives of seabirds and pigeons. There is something so human in appreciation for animals.

My favorite works in this were “Flush or Faunus” by Elizabeth Barret Browning and “The Arab’s Farewell to His Horse” by Caroline Norton.

The artwork for each poem was beautiful and whimsical which made this an even more enjoyable read.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Will I think about the rabbit and the soldier at least once a month for years to come? Highly probable.

Anyway this was super cute. Some of these crusty classic authors really said “ANIMAL RIGHTS ✊” and I love them for that tbh.

[GoldGato · Rating 4 out of 5]

Avenel Books used to make lovely books about poetry and other collections. This book was published in 1991 in their usual style with nice binding and paper. The focus is poems for various animals from famous authors along with little illustrations for each subject. For me, it was a handy book to have on my daily gloaming walks, so that I could read and try to memorize some of my favorites.

THAT CAT
The cat that comes to my window sill
When the moon looks cold and the night is still--
He comes in a frenzied state alone
With a tail that stands like a pine tree cone,
And says: "I have finished my evening lark,
And I think I can hear a hound dog bark.
My whiskers are froze 'nd stuck to my chin.
I do wish you'd git up and let me in."
That cat gits in.

But if in the solitude of the night
He doesn't appear to be feeling right,
And rises and stretches and seeks the floor,
And some remote corner he would explore,
And doesn't feel satisfied just because
There's no good spot for to sharpen his claws,
And meows and canters uneasy about
Beyond the least shadow of any doubt
That cat gits out.

Bret Harte was a nineteenth-century author who wrote stories and poetry about the western United States. He had several poems I quite enjoyed.

COYOTE
Blown out of the prairie in twilight and dew,
Half bold and half timid, yet lazy all through;
Loath ever to leave, and yet fearful to stay,
He limps in the clearing, an outcast in gray

A shade on the stubble, a ghost by the wall,
Now leaping, now limping, now risking a fall,
Lop-eared and large-jointed, but ever alway
A thoroughly vagabond outcast in gray.

Here, Carlo, old fellow,—he 's one of your kind,—
Go, seek him, and bring him in out of the wind.
What! snarling, my Carlo! So even dogs may
Deny their own kin in the outcast in gray

Well, take what you will—though it be on the sly,
Marauding or begging,—
I shall not ask why,
But will call it a dole, just to help on his way
A four-footed friar in orders of gray!

Yes, that is exactly how I see our local Coyotes…friars in robes of gray! Such a fitting description. There are forty-two poems in total and I really enjoyed all of them.

Book Season = Spring (of clovers and of noon)

[Lorie LovesBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very interesting little book of animal poems by various authors. I liked the bunny one the best, but there were a lot of good dog poems too. There are a few illustrations, but mostly it is the poems on each page.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75