George Washington Carver

I recently discovered an extremely talented illustrator named Julie Rowan-Zoch and instantly became a fan. Through chatting with her, I learned that we both think George Washington Carver was one of the coolest people to ever walk the earth. We decided to both do posts today honoring him. I think if you check out her blog, you will love what you see and read.

You can visit her site here: http://julierowanzoch.wordpress.com

I must admit I had a lot of difficulty writing a poem about George Washington Carver, even though he is a hero of mine. My poems are usually silly and always made-up. Mr. Carver was neither of those things. He was a brilliant man with many talents who accomplished amazing things. He had a gift with plants and became a professor of agriculture. He invented all kinds of products out of plants, especially from peanuts. He used plants to make hundreds of things from ink and milk to plastic and shaving cream. He also taught farmers how to grow better crops which helped the economy significantly. If you have time and you haven’t already, you should definitely read about George Washington Carver. He was a fascinating person.

Today, I have two poems for you: one silly poem about a kid who invents something from other things…kind of like George Washington Carver, but also very not like him, and a simple poem about my hero. I hope you like them! (And don’t forget to visit Julie’s blog!)

 

THE BIKE

Although I may not have a dime,

I’m cunning and I’m smart.

I built myself a bike from scratch,

A two-wheeled work of art.

The handlebars from mixer prongs,

The seat, a kitchen chair,

The wheels are from Dad’s set of drums.

I don’t think that he’ll care.

My sister’s necklace is the chain,

The gears are from a clock.

The horn is my pet parrot Pete.

That bird can really squawk!

Although my new bike is quite large,

I made sure it’s not slower

By giving it a motor that

I stole from Dad’s old mower.

I ride with pride upon my bike

It’s fast, it’s sleek, it’s rare

The finest bike in all the land

A bike beyond compare

And now, please allow me to present my very humble ode to the great George Washington Carver:

I love George Washington Carver

I don’t think you understand

How truly remarkable

And amazing was this man

Although he faced racism

In our post-Civil War nation

He overcame the odds

And earned an education

Armed with his love of plants

And hard-won master’s degree

He helped Booker T. Washington

Start a university

From plants like the peanut

Came his hundreds of inventions

Like shaving cream and buttermilk

He had the president’s’ attention

He helped so many people

He never stopped creating

His life was truly meaningful

And truly fascinating

Thank you so much for visiting today!!! If you weren’t already, I hope you become as big of a fan of George Washington Carver as I am. Don’t forget to stop by Julie Rowan-Zoch’s page to see what awesomeness she has cooked up! See you soon!

– Mother Streusel