The Sloth

A Bradypus, or Sloth, am I

I live a life of ease

Contented not to do or die

But idle as I please

I have three toes on either foot, Or half a doz. on both

With leaves and fruits, and shoots to eat

How sweet to be a Sloth

The world is such a cheerful place

When viewed from upside-down;

It makes a rise of every fall

A smile of every frown;

I watch the fleeting flutter by

Of butterfly or moth

And think of all the things I'd try

If I were not a Sloth

I could climb the very highest Himalayas

Be among the greatest ever tennis players

Win at chess or marry a Princess or

Study hard and be an eminent professor

I could be a millionaire, play the clarinet

Travel everywhere

Learn to cook, catch a crook

Win a war then write a book about it

I could paint a Mona Lisa

I could be another Caesar

Compose an oratorio that was sublime

The door's not shut on my genius but

I just don't have the time!

For days and days among the trees

I sleep and dream and doze

Just gently swaying in the breeze

Suspended by my toes

While eager beavers overhead

Rush through the undergrowth

I watch the clouds beneath my feet;

How sweet to be a Sloth