I’ve had a great time reading and re-reading Pat Skene’s three Orca poetry collections this month. With National Poetry Month coming to a close, this will be the last Poetry Pause on the Orca blog (for this year, at least). We’re wrapping up with “Creepy-Crawl-Critters” from Pat’s 2006 collection What a Hippopota-Mess! This poem is perfect for singing or “rapping” aloud in small groups or for introducing a discussion about all the creepy crawly critters turning up outside now that spring is here. Check out the cool critter facts after the poem or download the What a Hippopota-Mess! Teachers’ Guide for more fun classroom ideas. Enjoyed Pat’s poems? You can order the collections from the Orca website and keep pausing for poetry all year long.
Creepy-Crawl-Critters
Sometimes I wiggle when wet dew worms wiggle.
I watch as they squiggle and squirm.
They squeeze as they please to the
“creepy-crawl-jiggle,”
a pretty good dance for a worm.
I often see snakes that can slither and slide,
looking slippery, slimy and slick.
They move and they groove, as they hide and
they glide,
till they sleep and lie still as a stick.
I watch spindly spiders out spinning a snare
made of webs from their sticky silk-threads.
They weave and they wait for whatever
should dare
to get trapped in their tricky silk-beds.
And centipedes sure aren’t my favorite thing!
They have millions and zillions of legs.
Sometimes they cling and crawl under my swing
to find dark dingy dens to lay eggs.
Now, all of these wigglers aren’t easy to see
as they hurry and scurry each day.
And there’s no guarantee where their hideout
will be,
though I’m sure that it’s not far away.
But if you feel lucky and want to get mucky,
go look for this goose-bumpy bunch.
Remember that creepy-crawl-critters are yucky,
so don’t let them lick at your lunch!
—Pat Skene, 2006
Cool Critter Facts
1. Worms eat dirt.
Dew worms live for about six years. They have no eyes, and they breathe through their skin. Every day they eat up to one-third of their body weight. Earthworms have no teeth. They swallow the soil as they burrow into it. Dirt is good for them. What a way to get your vitamins!
2. Snakes have BIG mouths.
Snakes have a narrow body, a small head and no teeth. Yet they swallow their prey whole! (It would be like you trying to swallow a watermelon.) Snakes can do this because their skin is elastic and their jaws are loosely joined. They dislocate and expand their jaws
