Crocodile Tears – A Poem
"Crocodile Tears" is a poem that could be sung as a song. The expression "Crocodile Tears" means an insincere show of emotions. According to Wikipedia, "The expression comes from an ancient anecdote that crocodiles weep in order to lure their prey, or that they cry for the victims they are eating. They are fake tears."
Here’s the poem called "Crocodile Tears"…
Crocodile Tears
On the banks of the Nile an old crocodile
Lay sunning himself one day,
And he gently did croon an attempt at a tune,
As he watched some small children at play-
At play-
As he watched some small children at play.He pondered awhile, and a hungering smile
Revealed the extent of his jaw;
He was twenty feet long, was uncommonly strong,
And his teeth were arranged like a saw-
Like a saw-
And his teeth were arranged like a saw.He used every wile their hearts to beguile,
As toward them he stealthily stole;
He balanced each scale, and waggled his tail,
Then gobbled those children up whole-
Up whole-
Then gobbled those children up whole.And such is the style of this old crocodile,
He sheds bitter tears o’er his prey;
He was filled with deep gloom when he thought of their doom,
And he wept all the rest of the day-
The day-
And he wept all the rest of the day.
Beware of a crocodile’s tears, better yet, beware of the crocodile itself!
Mama Lisa
PS The image is from "Grosses bêtes & petites bêtes", images and text by André-Hellé (Paris, 1912), with a little graphical editing by Mama Lisa.
June 13th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Beware of a crocodile’s tears, better yet, beware of the crocodile itself!
Nice line :)
Great poem I enjoyed reading it !
June 14th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
My Mom used to sing my kids a Norweigian song that went something like, “clapp o clapp o cogga, molly go logga”…Does anyone know the full name of the song and its lyrics? I would love to get the words and be able to sing them to my grandson. For some reason I’m thinking part of the words in English are “we all fall down.” Thanks for your help!
June 20th, 2009 at 12:27 am
That should scare the children! It reminds me of Lewis Carroll’s Walrus and the Carpenter “With sobs and tears he sorted out those of the largest size.” Poor oyster children.