Manny and the Carrot

For Faina. A short story-poem that I wrote one day .. it's slowly turning into a collection of poems that will, eventually, form a whole adventure featuring the title character and his friends.

Now here's a story, a tale of a bunny, 

and how he came to live in meadows so sunny. 

He started out in a hole in the back of a yard, 

but that hole was a dump, every surface was marred. 

One day Manny took up his pack, for that was his name, 

and said to himself 'my NEW house shall not be the same!' 

So he set off on an adventure, that's what he did, 

and this here's the story, if you're interested.

Manny was short, fuzzy, and plump,

for within his hole he sat like a lump;

No jumping, no hopping, no bouncing around,

slowly did Manny gain pound after pound.

But this was okay, this was alright,

he would change starting that very night.

Once he decided that off he would set,

thinner and thinner, Manny would get.

With his pack on his back and a smile on his face,

Manny did start off on a journey to this place;

he saw it vividly, he did in his mind,

and hoped that this truly was what he would find:

A house that was perfect: large, bright,

an upstairs and a downstairs he wanted alright,

with plenty of rooms, even some with a view,

big enough for all of him, maybe even two!

The walls would be purple .. no, orange .. no, blue,

Manny scratched his head .. he had not a clue.

But colorful they would be, quite, oh quite,

and others would marvel at such wonderous a sight!

As Manny hopped along, thoughts buzzing in his head,

he paid no attention to where the road led;

through twists and turns, this way, then that,

the path took him, even once under a hat!

Through rain, through wind, he pushed on and on,

in persistance, it's true, Manny had won,

for around the two day mark, when hunger set in,

there was his hope! Back behind gates of tin:

A carrot, HUGE, plump, ready to eat,

to finish it all, wow, what a feat!

Manny took off his pack, set it aside,

then settled to business, this meal to divide.

'Eat it all now?' Manny asked himself,

'or save some for later, put it on a shelf.'

But the carrot was too big for a meal, three, or more ..

it looked, in fact, like it could feed three score!

While staring at the veggie, Manny a thought did strike,

An idea, quite brilliant, he was beginning to like:

'why not hollow it out' Manny did say,

'and when I'm done, in it I'd stay!'

So he began nibbling, a bite here, a chomp there,

and before he knew it, there was a stair!

With speed and cunning of a master at the craft,

Manny did move from front to aft.

Before week's end was his carrot-sculpting complete,

and Manny went in to take a rest in his seat;

around him, you see, was the great new house he did carve,

and since it was a carrot, never would he starve!

So that's the story of Manny, fat rabbit turned thin,

and his wonderous new house, behind a gate made of tin.

Now do not be sad, Manny's tale here not ends,

for Manny has many more, with the help of his friends!

So read on, in the pages that follow,

tales of Manny, in his huge carrot now hollow;

stories of how friends he does make,

and adventures that, together, they do take!

Author's Note

End goal is to integrate this as the first or one of the first chapters in a collection of poems about the title character and his friends, depicting the adventures that they embark upon. UPDATE (6.10.10): Last stanza modified and another added afterwards -- second poem/chapter written and will be uploaded soon.

Reviews

[Tate Morgan]

LOL I keep thinking of Benjamin bunny only a mature version

[Awaken the Sleepwalker]

Oh, I really enjoyed this! It's so well developed and the detail is astounding. The imagery really pops as well. I agree with your note about needing to revise the last stanza, but I don't think its anything major. I love the first two lines of that stanza, it's just the last two lines where the sentence structure seems a little off. Continue writing I love this.