Years ago, I saw Steven Kellogg at some conference, somewhere, and purchased a book that he had illustrated, Snuffles and Snouts, poems selected by Laura Robb. Kellogg drew a huge pig face on the end papers and signed his name with a heart!
The book ended up lost in a pile of books, but, now, 16 years later, I've unearthed it and have found this tender (pun intended) poem that concludes the book:
The Prayer of the Little Pig
by Carmen Bernos De Gasztold (translated by Rumer Godden)
Lord,
their politeness makes me laugh!
Yes, I grunt!
Grunt and snuffle!
I grunt because I grunt
and snuffle
because I cannot do anything else!
All the same, I am not going to thank them
for fattening me up to make bacon.
Why did You make me so tender?
What a fate!
Lord,
teach me how to say
Amen.
I'd suggest that you look for Snuffles and Snouts at your public library since it is long out of print. The illustrations are typically Kelloggian, and, on the back cover, Kellogg has included a little piggy poem of his own to meet the challenge issued by John Ciardi in "Why Pigs Can't Write Poems."
Snuffle on over to Tabatha Yeatts: The Opposite of Indifference for the weekly Round-Up of poetry links.
Photo © Diane Mayr, all rights reserved.
This sounds like a great book! What a shame it's out of print! I love the poem you chose from it.
ReplyDeleteOh, poor piggy . . .
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this fun poem! The little piggy could come live with us - we're vegetarian. ;0)
ReplyDeleteLove it!
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone. I think it's time to put together a pig haiga!
ReplyDeleteYes, I want to read your pig haiga. I thinks kids particularly can relate to animal persona poems. Nice choice!
ReplyDeleteJoyce, come back next Friday, I just finished it. It's a pig haiga, but the sentiment is purely human.
ReplyDelete__I often think of 'Lord of the Flies,' when pigs are seen, and this... a family portrait. Lovit!
ReplyDelete__Just an answer... I've casually learned about the North East native peoples, especially the more obscure sects, like the Tunxi and Nemaskets. _m