Ode to the Sheep

The iambic tetrameter is a meter in poetry with each line consisting of four iambs, or feet, with an iamb being defined as a short syllable followed by a long, stressed syllable (da DUM). Each line in the poem, therefore, follows the pattern da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM.

A classic example of the iambic meter is Lewis Carroll’s ‘The Jabberwocky’.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”

And so, to mitigate the woeful inadequacy of good English poetry about the sheep, what follows is:

An Ode to Sheep (In Iambic Tetrameter)

A sheep is quite a lovely pet

To have around the home all day.

It never will get in your way

With niggling worries for the vet.

A sheep is quite a quiet chap.

He’s not a whining, grunting hog,

Or like the growling, barking dog

That bores you with its yippety-yap.

A very useful beast to keep;

Gives bales of fluffy, snow-white wool.

And when the weather’s somewhat cool

You will be grateful for your sheep.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iambic_tetrameter