A Hippopotamus Not
A Hippopotamus Not :
A hippopotamusn’t sit
On lawn chairs, stools, and rockers.
A hippopotamusn’t yawn
Directly under tightrope walkers.
A hippopotamusn’t roll
In gutters used by bowlers.
A hippopotamusn’t fail
To floss his hippopotamolars.
The awful things a hippopotamusn’t do
Are just
As important as the lawful things
A hippopotamust.
[First appeared in A Hippopotamusn’t, Dial, 1990.
All rights belong to J. Patrick Lewis - U.S. Children's Poet Laureate]
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A Hippopotamus Not
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