Weird & Wonderful Pets Poem by Sheena Blackhall

William Cowper took three hares to own
As pets, although the eldest liked to bite
They healed him when his nervous state broke down
Along Parisienne paths: a stunning sight
Gérard de Nerval, on a blue silk lead
Walked his pet lobster, by the pansies bright
Lucius Crassius, a strange man indeed
Favoured a Moray eel, fed it on slaves
For human dainties were its daily feed
Lord Byron like to stir up social waves
With his amigo, a great lumbering bear
For this is how a mad, bad, bard behaves

Salvador Dali walked with his ant eater
Shahad al-Jaber, kisses her pet cheetah

Michael Jackson housed a chimpanzee
While Nero's favourite was the tigress, Phoebe
Anne Boleyn kept a lapdog on her knee
(today, designer pets are bought on e-bay)
An orang-utan lived with Josephine
Napoleon's wife, she served it on a tray
John Quincy Adams caused his guests to scream
For in the bath he homed an alligator
And you can picture, if you will, the scene
When a guest left-or did she- did he eat her?
King Elvis Presley's pet, a kangaroo
Played nicely as an act in the theatre

A pet to play with, love, or reverence
Fin, feather, fur: say, what's your preference?