You Can Never Be Too Careful
From the book My Hippo Has the Hiccups
You can never be too careful,
that’s what I always say,
and so I wear a hat, or two,
in case my hair turns gray.
I’ve thirteen tires on my car,
in case I get a flat.
I wear my pants size fifty-three,
in case I grow too fat.
You can never be too careful,
I’m sure you’ll find it’s true.
I see the doctor every day,
in case I catch the flu.
I carry twenty handkerchiefs,
in case I have to sneeze,
and forty seven bandages,
in case I skin my knees.
You can never be too careful,
so if I take a walk,
I tiptoe everywhere I go
and whisper when I talk.
I hide my money in a box,
and lock it up inside Fort Knox.
My house is made of bricks and rocks.
The front door has a hundred locks.
But now I have a problem, see,
I’m locked inside without the key.
I’ve lost it and I can’t get free.
I hid it much too carefully!
— Kenn Nesbitt
Copyright © 2009. All Rights Reserved.
Reading Level: Grade 2
Topics: Health, Wordplay
Poetic Techniques: Hyperbole, Irony, Narrative Poems
Word Count: 177
From the book My Hippo Has the Hiccups
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