Poetry Winners

As a part of its "Be Kind to Animals Week" festivities, the Wisconsin Humane Society sponsors a poetry contest for kids. Here are this year's winning entries.

The Poem of Don'ts
By Domonika Lulewicz
3rd Grade
Golda Meir School

Don’t eat a banana in front of a gorilla,
Don’t get fishy around a fish.
Don’t step on a whale,
Don’t try to fly like a bird.
Don’t stop a beaver from having healthy teeth,
Don’t drink the cat’s milk.
Don’t pull a horse’s tail,
Don’t ride a camel without a hump.
Don’t try to do monkey bars faster than a monkey,
Don’t wear a turtleneck at a turtle party.
Don’t be a nut around a squirrel,
Don’t act sweet around a bee.
Don’t drive like a turkey,
Don’t eat a hot dog in front of a dog.
Don’t chew gum with a cow,
Don’t try to trick a skunk into eating beans.
Don’t act like a woos around a platypus.

And,

For snake’s sake, be kind to animals!!

By Lena Stasiak
4th Grade
Richards School

Kind
Irresponsible
Terrific
Trouble
Entertaining
Noisy
Small

Dazzling
Outgoing
Great
Swift

Playful
Underfoot
Pals
Pesky
Yappy
Sloppy

Silence isn’t Golden
By Emily A. Moore
6th Grade
Milwaukee School of Languages

Silence isn’t Golden,
This is a fact for sure.
What would happen if we couldn’t speak, only hiss or purr?
Oink, moo, squeak, bark
They have a limitation.
To get their thoughts out into the world,
And stay there for future generations.

They Need You
By Celina Edwards
5th Grade
St. Charles Borromeo School

There are dogs and cats
That need your help.
So start a drive
For food or toys.
Adopt a pet,
Or volunteer
To help them out
The time is here.
Please don’t wait.
Get to it now.
If you say you care,
Please show how.
Now remember these
Few words I say,
Animals are important,
So help them today.
And put your
Compassion in Action.

COMPASSION
By Yawa Lavoe
4th Grade
Golda Meir School

Compassion
By Neil Janes
5th Grade
Golda Meir School

As an animal dies we feel sad.
We feel as if the world has stopped so suddenly. It hurts; it’s a life stopping moment.
You find your parents walking in your room bearing the information you don’t like, you don’t want to hear.
Now life moves on painfully and slowly.
As life goes on there are times when animals are killed, harmed or maimed.
There are times when your animal is threatened.
Animals can always be saved, even in the times when your fear becomes true.
Many times a day animals get saved from the grim reaper,
Death whatever you want to call it.
It seems as if animals have their own world, as if they are your brothers and sisters.
When you wake up and find your dog or your cat on your bed there is always a moment of hope, a bond of friendship.
When your parakeet chirps, your ferret squeaks, hamster runs his wheel, snake curls your arm, there is always something in that animal, something special.
Something that has more mercy than anything.
It will always remind you that you are not alone.
Some people will give their life for that animal, while some just put it in a cage outside in the middle of winter.
You being a homo sapien can always help.
You are another animal like them.
They can be in your debt forever; you hold their memory deep in your heart. Animals are a part of life; you interact with them every day.
If an animal is hurt you are always able to help it, you always can.
Only you can.