Axolotls

Ray Owen

Once there was an axolotl

who liked to throw his axe a lot-l 

(Forgive me, for the English language

does give this poem a disadvantage)

But anyway, this axolotl

was very happy with the throttle

His driving habits were atrocious

if for his species quite precocious 

…and here ends my attempt. It’s awful

to rhyme a word like “axolotl”

(Reprise)

Once there was an axolotl

In Tr’ondek land, prospector hopeful

He’d come from uptown Budapest 

To Edmonton, then travelled West 

What he forgot, our axolotl

Was he had skin like milky opal

The Yukon snows’ reflected light

Was awful harsh on scales so white

He soldiered on, this axolotl 

And ended winter with a boat-full

Of nuggets; then he up and fled 

Before the summer cooked him dead