poem!

A peculiar encounter

Through a forest of deep green ran a downtrodden path
That, as I went, lost its appeal
I decided to turn, and blaze my own way
An idea I pursued with zeal

After forging for a while, through the bushes and trees
I came upon a small lake
By now I was tired, hungry, and thirsty
It seemed an ideal place for a break

As I rested I noticed I was not alone
For I saw a creature across from me
It was large, with small ears and leathery skin
But floated, strange to see

Curious I strolled around the pond
To see whatever I could
The reason for its bobbing then became quite apparent
This creature was made of wood!

Don’t ask me to explain, I’m afraid I cannot
How a creature of wood can be
And before I could even think more on the subject
The creature spoke to me

“Do unto others,” the creature said,
“As you would have them do to you.”
“Be polite, courteous and always kind.”
“And always ask ‘how do you do?’”

I was baffled, confused, and a bit out of sorts
With the feeling I was not quite on par
All I managed that moment was to speak my mind
Saying, “Sir, what is it you are?”

The politeness that the creature had shown me
Suddenly changed to a sarcastic sneer
“My are you stupid, idiotic and dumb.”
“Strange and I’m sure very queer.”

At that the creature merely wandered away
Shouting insults and cursing fate
As I watched it go, its nature stuck me
I’d just met a hippo-crate