I loved writing this blog post one day in the Fall. Maybe you will enjoy it this Easter. After the poem is flower news on my front.
Strictly Germ-proof
by Arthur Guiterman
The Antiseptic Baby and the Prophylactic Pup
Were playing in the garden when the Bunny gamboled up;
They looked upon the Creature with a loathing undisguised;—
It wasn't Disinfected and it wasn't Sterilized.
They said it was a Microbe and a Hotbed of Disease;
They steamed it in a vapor of a thousand-odd degrees;
They froze it in a freezer that was cold as Banished Hope
And washed it in permanganate with carbolated soap.
In sulphurated hydrogen they steeped its wiggly ears;
They trimmed its frisky whiskers with a pair of hard-boiled shears;
They donned their rubber mittens and they took it by the hand
And elected it a member of the Fumigated Band.
There's not a Micrococcus in the garden where they play;
They bathe in pure iodoform a dozen times a day;
And each imbibes his rations from a Hygienic Cup—
The Bunny and the Baby and the Prophylactic Pup.
Notes:
1] Prophylactic: disease-preventing.
8] permanganate: a salt of permanganic acid. carbolated soap: a salt of carbolic acid.
13] Micrococcus: spherical bacterium, usually found on the skin of mammals.
14] iodoform: compound of iodine used as a disinfectant.
Since I did not know the meaning of the middle two words, I decided to leave definitions intact.
by Arthur Guiterman
The Antiseptic Baby and the Prophylactic Pup
Were playing in the garden when the Bunny gamboled up;
They looked upon the Creature with a loathing undisguised;—
It wasn't Disinfected and it wasn't Sterilized.
They said it was a Microbe and a Hotbed of Disease;
They steamed it in a vapor of a thousand-odd degrees;
They froze it in a freezer that was cold as Banished Hope
And washed it in permanganate with carbolated soap.
In sulphurated hydrogen they steeped its wiggly ears;
They trimmed its frisky whiskers with a pair of hard-boiled shears;
They donned their rubber mittens and they took it by the hand
There's not a Micrococcus in the garden where they play;
They bathe in pure iodoform a dozen times a day;
The Bunny and the Baby and the Prophylactic Pup.
Notes:
1] Prophylactic: disease-preventing.
8] permanganate: a salt of permanganic acid. carbolated soap: a salt of carbolic acid.
13] Micrococcus: spherical bacterium, usually found on the skin of mammals.
14] iodoform: compound of iodine used as a disinfectant.
Since I did not know the meaning of the middle two words, I decided to leave definitions intact.
Finally, the dogwood and azalea have bloomed. Plus, what lavender wisteria left in my yard is blooming. It is so fragrant. The white wisteria is blooming near the Yoshino Cherry. Little purple blooms are in the vinca. Only the tulips and daffodils have faded. Well, some daffodils are still in the back yard, but the ones left are white, not yellow. The iris are the only thing left to bloom later. I love flowers. I suppose I will have dandelions soon!
Oh, in the long bed that was filled with nothing but Hosta, I finally found a tiny bit of Hosta trying to live after the chipmunk massacre. Then, in the inappropriate dirt of the front yard, the Hosta I planted there is peeping through. However, the one in the upended pot is about a foot high and eighteen-inches across.
