Famous Holiday Poems
Popular Poems for the Holiday Seasons
Holidays are many things to many people. For some, the primary function of a holiday is its religious significance. It is a time when specific spiritual opportunities are available to experience. For others holidays are primarily about family getting together. Most people do not work and so there is an opportunity to renew family bonds. Relatives that you haven't seen in awhile join together with you to celebrate the family that you belong too. People that do not have large families or may not want to join together with them may celebrate with friends.
23 Classic Holiday Poems by Famous Poets
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1. Thanksgiving
Famous Poem
Gettin’ together to smile an’ rejoice,
An’ eatin’ an’ laughin’ with folks of your choice;
An’ kissin’ the girls an’ declarin’ that they
Are growin’ more beautiful day after day;
Chattin’ an’ braggin’ a bit with the men,
Buildin’ the old family circle again;
Livin’ the wholesome an’ old-fashioned cheer,
Just for awhile at the end of the year.
Greetings fly fast as we crowd through the door
And under the old roof we gather once more
Just as we did when the youngsters were small;
Mother’s a little bit grayer, that’s all.
Father’s a little bit older, but still
Ready to romp an’ to laugh with a will.
Here we are back at the table again
Tellin’ our stories as women an’ men.
Bowed are our heads for a moment in prayer;
Oh, but we’re grateful an’ glad to be there.
Home from the east land an’ home from the west,
Home with the folks that are dearest an’ best.
Out of the sham of the cities afar
We’ve come for a time to be just what we are.
Here we can talk of ourselves an’ be frank,
Forgettin’ position an’ station an’ rank.
Give me the end of the year an’ its fun
When most of the plannin’ an’ toilin’ is done;
Bring all the wanderers home to the nest,
Let me sit down with the ones I love best,
Hear the old voices still ringin’ with song,
See the old faces unblemished by wrong,
See the old table with all of its chairs
An’ I’ll put soul in my Thanksgivin’ prayers.Featured Shared StoryThe second to last stanza is so familiar. Edgar Guest so kindly reminds us of those who mean the most to us and are the ones we can let our hair down around. They speak of things only we...
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2. A Friend's Greeting
Famous Poem
I'd like to be the sort of friend
that you have been to me;
I'd like to be the help that you've been
always glad to be;
I'd like to mean as much to you
each minute of the day
As you have meant, old friend of mine,
to me along the way.
I'd like to do the big things
and the splendid things for you,
To brush the gray out of your skies
and leave them only blue;
I'd like to say the kindly things
that I so oft have heard,
And feel that I could rouse your soul
the way that mine you've stirred.
I'd like to give back the joy
that you have given me,
Yet that were wishing you a need
I hope will never be;
I'd like to make you feel
as rich as I, who travel on
Undaunted in the darkest hours
with you to lean upon.
I'm wishing at this Christmas time
that I could but repay
A portion of the gladness
that you've strewn along the way;
And could I have one wish this year,
this only would it be:
I'd like to be the sort of friend
that you have been to me.Featured Shared StoryEdgar is so in touch with his higher self, therefore, bringing a deep resonance from my heart space just thinking of being loved, appreciated, and cherished in such a way! His speaking of...
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3. 'Twas The Night Before Christmas
Famous Poem
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds;
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave a lustre of midday to objects below,
When what to my wondering eyes did appear,
But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny rein-deer,
With a little old driver so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment he must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:
"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blixen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"
As leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the housetop the coursers they flew
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too--
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a pedler just opening his pack.
His eyes--how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly
That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight--
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"Featured Shared StoryI remember hearing this poem as a little youngster. I would also read this to my daughter and nephews each year right before Christmas! It is a wonderful poem to share with your family!...
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4. At Christmas
Famous Poem
A man is at his finest
towards the finish of the year;
He is almost what he should be
when the Christmas season is here;
Then he's thinking more of others
than he's thought the months before,
And the laughter of his children
is a joy worth toiling for.
He is less a selfish creature than
at any other time;
When the Christmas spirit rules him
he comes close to the sublime.
When it's Christmas man is bigger
and is better in his part;
He is keener for the service
that is prompted by the heart.
All the petty thoughts and narrow
seem to vanish for awhile
And the true reward he's seeking
is the glory of a smile.
Then for others he is toiling and
somehow it seems to me
That at Christmas he is almost
what God wanted him to be.
If I had to paint a picture of a man
I think I'd wait
Till he'd fought his selfish battles
and had put aside his hate.
I'd not catch him at his labors
when his thoughts are all of pelf,
On the long days and the dreary
when he's striving for himself.
I'd not take him when he's sneering,
when he's scornful or depressed,
But I'd look for him at Christmas
when he's shining at his best.
Man is ever in a struggle
and he's oft misunderstood;
There are days the worst that's in him
is the master of the good,
But at Christmas kindness rules him
and he puts himself aside
And his petty hates are vanquished
and his heart is opened wide.
Oh, I don't know how to say it,
but somehow it seems to me
That at Christmas man is almost
what God sent him here to be.Featured Shared StoryThis poem by Edgar Guest touches my heart on so many levels! He speaks from his higher self, a heart-centered place which all of us are capable of living from and not just at Christmas time. ...
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5. Ring Out, Wild Bells
Famous Poem
Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light:
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.
Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
Ring out the grief that saps the mind
For those that here we see no more;
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.
Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.
Ring out the want, the care, the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes
But ring the fuller minstrel in.
Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.
Ring out old shapes of foul disease;
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.
Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.Featured Shared StoryNo Stories yet, You can be the first!
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6. The Year
Famous Poem
What can be said in New Year rhymes,
That’s not been said a thousand times?
The new years come, the old years go,
We know we dream, we dream we know.
We rise up laughing with the light,
We lie down weeping with the night.
We hug the world until it stings,
We curse it then and sigh for wings.
We live, we love, we woo, we wed,
We wreathe our brides, we sheet our dead.
We laugh, we weep, we hope, we fear,
And that’s the burden of the year.Featured Shared StoryNo Stories yet, You can be the first!
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7. Christmas Bells
Famous Poem
Analysis of Form and Technique
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men."Featured Shared StoryIt's wonderful. I love how he added that he believes in God. Best poem ever.
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8. Christmas Carol
Famous Poem
The kings they came from out the south,
All dressed in ermine fine;
They bore Him gold and chrysoprase,
And gifts of precious wine.
The shepherds came from out the north,
Their coats were brown and old;
They brought Him little new-born lambs—
They had not any gold.
The wise men came from out the east,
And they were wrapped in white;
The star that led them all the way
Did glorify the night.
The angels came from heaven high,
And they were clad with wings;
And lo, they brought a joyful song
The host of heaven sings.
The kings they knocked upon the door,
The wise men entered in,
The shepherds followed after them
To hear the song begin.
The angels sang through all the night
Until the rising sun,
But little Jesus fell asleep
Before the song was done.Featured Shared StoryNo Stories yet, You can be the first!
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9. Thanksgiving
Famous Poem
We walk on starry fields of white
And do not see the daisies;
For blessings common in our sight
We rarely offer praises.
We sigh for some supreme delight
To crown our lives with splendor,
And quite ignore our daily store
Of pleasures sweet and tender.
Our cares are bold and push their way
Upon our thought and feeling.
They hang about us all the day,
Our time from pleasure stealing.
So unobtrusive many a joy
We pass by and forget it,
But worry strives to own our lives
And conquers if we let it.
There's not a day in all the year
But holds some hidden pleasure,
And looking back, joys oft appear
To brim the past's wide measure.
But blessings are like friends, I hold,
Who love and labor near us.
We ought to raise our notes of praise
While living hearts can hear us.
Full many a blessing wears the guise
Of worry or of trouble.
Farseeing is the soul and wise
Who knows the mask is double.
But he who has the faith and strength
To thank his God for sorrow
Has found a joy without alloy
To gladden every morrow.
We ought to make the moments notes
Of happy, glad Thanksgiving;
The hours and days a silent phrase
Of music we are living.
And so the theme should swell and grow
As weeks and months pass o'er us,
And rise sublime at this good time,
A grand Thanksgiving chorus.Featured Shared StoryNo Stories yet, You can be the first!
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10. A Nation's Strength
Famous Poem
What makes a nation's pillars high
And its foundations strong?
What makes it mighty to defy
The foes that round it throng?
It is not gold. Its kingdoms grand
Go down in battle shock;
Its shafts are laid on sinking sand,
Not on abiding rock.
Is it the sword? Ask the red dust
Of empires passed away;
The blood has turned their stones to rust,
Their glory to decay.
And is it pride? Ah, that bright crown
Has seemed to nations sweet;
But God has struck its luster down
In ashes at his feet.
Not gold but only men can make
A people great and strong;
Men who for truth and honor's sake
Stand fast and suffer long.
Brave men who work while others sleep,
Who dare while others fly...
They build a nation's pillars deep
And lift them to the sky.Featured Shared StoryNo Stories yet, You can be the first!
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11. Holidays
Famous Poem
The holiest of all holidays are those
Kept by ourselves in silence and apart;
The secret anniversaries of the heart,
When the full river of feeling overflows;--
The happy days unclouded to their close;
The sudden joys that out of darkness start
As flames from ashes; swift desires that dart
Like swallows singing down each wind that blows!
White as the gleam of a receding sail,
White as a cloud that floats and fades in air,
White as the whitest lily on a stream,
These tender memories are;--a fairy tale
Of some enchanted land we know not where,
But lovely as a landscape in a dream.Featured Shared StoryNo Stories yet, You can be the first!
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12. New-Year's Eve And New-Year's Day
Famous Poem
Good bye, Old Year!
And with thee take
Thanks for the gifts to every land
Thou broughtest in thy bounteous hand,
And all that thou hast taught to hearts thy lingering steps forsake.
Good bye, Old Year!
The Past awaiteth thee.
Who ruleth in her power alone
The kingdom of Oblivion.
Silent she sits in ebon chair;
Falling mists of dusky hair
Veil her dark eyes' glorious shine,
Full of wise help, and truth divine.
Silent, unless a fitful sound,
As from some cavern underground,
Steal from her lips; the company
Of ancient Years that round her be,
Then chanting, one by one, give tongue
To old experience in their song.
Good bye, Old Year!
Thou goest forth alone,
As we shall do: thy pages gay,
Seasons and months who round thee lay,
Attend thee to Earth's farthest verge, then back! to greet thy son.
Hail, New-born Year!
Cradled in morning clouds
Golden and white. I cannot see
Thy face--'tis wrapp'd in mystery;
But Spring for thee is painting flowers,
And Summer decks her woven bowers;
Rich Autumn's sheaves will soon be reap'd,
With store of fruits in sunbeams steep'd,
And one by one with gentle hand folds back thy sunlit shrouds.
Hail, New-born Year!
Shining and beautiful,
Thou wilt step forth in plenitude
Of youth and its rejoicing mood.
Last child of the half-century,
And time of coming victory
Over the spirits of night and sin,
Whose howlings of defeat begin:
Thou bringest hope, and labour bless'd
In visions of successful rest,
Bringest great thoughts, and actions wrought
In fire upon that forge of thought,
And with the soul of earnestness I think thy youths are full.
Hail, New-born Year!
My utterance is too weak
To tell of all I think thou bringest,
To echo back the song thou singest;
But the very winds of Heaven for those who listen to them, speak!Featured Shared StoryNo Stories yet, You can be the first!
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13. The Holy Night
Famous Poem
We sate among the stalls at Bethlehem;
The dumb kine from their fodder turning them,
Softened their horned faces
To almost human gazes
Toward the newly Born:
The simple shepherds from the star-lit brooks
Brought their visionary looks,
As yet in their astonied hearing rung
The strange sweet angel-tongue:
The magi of the East, in sandals worn,
Knelt reverent, sweeping round,
With long pale beards, their gifts upon the ground,
The incense, myrrh, and gold
These baby hands were impotent to hold:
So let all earthlies and celestials wait
Upon thy royal state.
Sleep, sleep, my kingly One!Featured Shared StoryNo Stories yet, You can be the first!
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14. Halloween Is Nearly Here
Famous Poem
Halloween is nearly here.
I’ve got my costume planned.
It’s sure to be the most horrific
outfit in the land.
If you should see me coming
you may scream and hide your head.
My get-up will, I guarantee,
fill every heart with dread.
My costume may cause nightmares.
Yes, my mask may stop your heart.
You might just shriek and wet yourself,
then squeamishly depart.
And yet, I won’t be dressing as
you might expect me to.
I will not be a vampire
or ghost that hollers “boo!”
I won’t look like a werewolf
or a goblin or a ghoul,
or even like a slimy blob
of deadly, dripping drool.
I will not be a zombie
or some other horrid creature.
No, this year I’ll be much, much worse…
I’m dressing as a teacher.
“Halloween is Nearly Here” copyright © 2012 Kenn Nesbitt. All Rights Reserved. Published in The Armpit of Doom. Reprinted by permission of the author. www.poetry4kids.comFeatured Shared StoryNo Stories yet, You can be the first!
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15. We Bought A Lot Of Candy Bars
Famous Poem
We bought a lot of candy bars.
We thought it would be neat
to have a ton for all the kids
who came to trick-or-treat.
We bought them early in the month
when they were all on sale.
We dragged the bags in from the car
and set them on the scale.
The candy weighed a hundred pounds!
I’m sure we got enough.
In fact, we may have had too much
of all that yummy stuff.
It wouldn’t hurt to just eat one,
or two, or three, or four.
We bought so much that we could
even eat a dozen more.
So every day we had a few;
a minuscule amount.
How many? I can’t say for sure.
I wasn’t keeping count.
Our pile grew smaller every day
by ten, fifteen, or twenty.
But, still, it didn’t matter.
We were certain we had plenty.
When Halloween arrived we checked
the candy situation,
and found that we had given in
to way too much temptation.
A single bar was all we had.
We’d eaten all the rest.
So, if our lights are off tonight,
I think that’s for the best.
“We Bought a Lot of Candy Bars” copyright © 2020 Kenn Nesbitt. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted by permission of the author. www.poetry4kids.comFeatured Shared StoryNo Stories yet, You can be the first!
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16. The Eternal Riddle
Famous Poem
Israel, my people,
God's greatest riddle,
Will thy solution
Ever be told
Fought - never conquered,
Bent - never broken,
Mortal - immortal,
Youthful, though old.
Egypt enslaved thee,
Babylon crushed thee,
Rome led thee captive,
Homeless thy head.
Where are those nations
Mighty and fearsome
Thou hast survived them,
They are long dead.
Nations keep coming,
Nations keep going,
Passing like shadows,
Wiped off the earth.
Thou an eternal
Witness remainest,
Watching their burial,
Watching their birth.
Pray, who revealed thee
Heaven's great secret:
Death and destruction,
Thus to defy
Suffering torture,
Stake, inquisition -
Prithee, who taught thee
Never to die
Ay, and who gave thee
Faith, deep as ocean,
Strong as the rock-hills,
Fierce as the sun
Hated and hunted,
Ever thou wand'rest,
Bearing a message:
God is but one!
Pray, has thy saga
Likewise an ending,
As its beginning
Glorious of old
Israel, my people,
God's greatest riddle,
Will thy solution
Ever be toldFeatured Shared StoryNo Stories yet, You can be the first!
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17. The Feast Of Freedom
Famous Poem
I REMEMBER in my childhood
From my grandfather I heard
Charming tales of gone-by ages
That my soul so deeply stirred.
Charming tales of ancient sages
That I felt I knew were true;
Stories of the hoary ages
That remain forever new.
Of the Pesach-days he told me,
Days that joy and sunshine bring;
Of the Festival of Freedom,
Of Revival and of Spring.
Of the slave-people in Egypt,
Whose hot blood so rashly spilled,
Soaked into cold bricks and mortar
Of the fortresses they built.
How on them, the God-forsaken,
After gloomy wintry days,
Shone at last the rays of freedom,
Heaven's bright and cheerful rays.
How among them rose a leader,
Star-like in a gloomy night,
And he pleaded for their freedom,
And he crushed a tyrant's might.
How he taught the fettered people
Not in vain their blood to spill,
Turning bondmen into freemen,
Men of honor and of will.
How the people's march to Freedom
Could no despot's might restrain,
Till before their will resistless
Stormy ocean oped in twain.
"Then it was our people's springtime,
After which a summer came,
Followed by a golden harvest,
Free from yoke and free from shame."
"Grand-sire, dear," I asked enraptured,
"How long did that summer last?"
But he sadly gazed and pondered,
And he answered me at last.
"Child, it was a long, bright summer,
But a winter came again,
Came with cold and snow and showers,
With its gales of grief and pain.
"Frost and tempest-strife, contention--
Raged once more in every part,
Stealing into souls and freezing
Will and hope in every heart.
"Furious storm once more dispersed us;
Israel rendered free and great,
Into lands of cruel despots
Went to face a bondman's fate."
"Grand-sire, dear, why does this winter
Seem so endless, then?"--I sighed--
And two crystal tears were trembling
In his eyes when he replied.
"Yes, my boy, it seems so endless,
But it cannot, will not be;
Israel will not slave forever,
One day, child, he will be free.
"In his soul will re-awaken
Courage, will, and pride, and might;
Freedom's sunrise must needs follow
Israel's starless exile night.
"But till then, ere spring's arrival--
For the winter's steps are slow--
Pesach is a sweet remembrance
Of a spring of long ago."Featured Shared StoryNo Stories yet, You can be the first!
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18. Star Of The East
Famous Poem
Star of the East, that long ago
Brought wise men on their way
Where, angels singing to and fro,
The Child of Bethlehem lay—
Above that Syrian hill afar
Thou shinest out to-night, O Star!
Star of the East, the night were drear
But for the tender grace
That with thy glory comes to cheer
Earth's loneliest, darkest place;
For by that charity we see
Where there is hope for all and me.
Star of the East! show us the way
In wisdom undefiled
To seek that manger out and lay
Our gifts before the child—
To bring our hearts and offer them
Unto our King in Bethlehem!Featured Shared StoryNo Stories yet, You can be the first!
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19. Chanukah Lights
Famous Poem
I KINDLED my eight little candles,
My Chanukah-candles--and lo!
Fair visions and dreams half-forgotten
To me came of years long ago.
I musingly gazed at my candles;
Meseemed in their quivering flames
In golden, in fiery letters
I read the old glorious names,
The names of our heroes immortal,
The noble, the brave, and the true,
A battle-field saw I in vision
Where many were conquered by few.
Where trampled in dust lay the mighty,
Judea's proud Syrian foe;
And Judas, the brave Maccabaeus,
In front of his army I saw.
His eyes shone like bright stars of heaven,
Like music rang out his strong voice:
"Brave comrades, we fought and we conquered,
Now let us, in God's name, rejoice!"
"We conquered--but know, O brave comrades,
No triumph is due to the sword!
Remember our glorious watchword,
'For People and Towns of the Lord!'"
He spoke, and from all the four corners
An echo repeated each word;
The woods and the mountains re-echoed:
"For People and Towns of the Lord!"
And swiftly the message spread, saying:
"Judea, Judea is free,
Re-kindled the lamp in the Temple,
Re-kindled each bosom with glee!"
My Chanukah-candles soon flickered,
Around me was darkness of night;
But deep in my soul I felt shining
A heavenly-glorious light.Featured Shared StoryNo Stories yet, You can be the first!
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20. A Vampire Bit My Neck Last Night
Famous Poem
A vampire bit my neck last night.
And, though it sounds insane,
some zombies chased me down the street
and tried to eat my brain.
A mummy shambled after me.
Godzilla stomped my face.
I nearly I got abducted by
an alien from space.
When Frankenstein attacked me
I escaped, but then almost
got tackled by a skeleton,
a werewolf, and a ghost.
A slimy blob engulfed me.
Then I woke up with a scream.
I’ve never been so overjoyed
to wake up from a dream.
Last night I learned a lesson;
if you want to keep your head,
don’t watch a scary movie
right before you go to bed.
“A Vampire Bit My Neck Last night” copyright © 2021 Kenn Nesbitt. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted by permission of the author. www.poetry4kids.comFeatured Shared StoryNo Stories yet, You can be the first!
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