Poetry Friday: I Am Formally Introduced to a Hedgehog

After years of teaching the poem below, I met my first hedgehog last week.

Hedgehog

by Chu Chen Po

He ambles along like a walking pin cushion,

Stops and curls up like a chestnut burr.

He's not worried because he's so little.

Nobody is going to slap him around.

Translated from the Chinese by Kenneth Rexroth

Everyone, meet Daisy. Daisy, meet the Poetry Friday gang.

Daisy is a pygmy hedgehog, smaller than my  hand.

My daughter and her friend -- Daisy's favorite person.

 I use the hedgehog poem to introduce similes. I usually bring a pin cushion and a burr (sweetgum burrs are plentiful here and stand in for chestnut). The students and I talk about why these are good comparisons for a hedgehog.

The quills won't prick you when she's relaxed, but petting a hedgehog is a strange sensation. They feel kind of like fingernails. Daisy likes to take naps with her best friend (above, on right), nestled in the crook of her arm. Big personality in a small package -- as noted by Chu Chen Po.

I hope you enjoyed the cuteness. More Poetry Friday at Marjory's Paper Tigers!