Worms for Pets

Pets are for life. It's no secret that keeping animals as companions can be a tremendous source of happiness, but also brings a great amount of responsibility. From caring for animals to being mindful of your pet's health, there is much to learn about being responsible in the world of pets and people.

In this article, we will read a poem on pet worms. Keeping a worm as a pet sounds strange, so we will read the article and understand what the poet says about keeping worms as a pet. The poem we are about to discuss is about a child who wants a pet.

Worms for Pets Poem in English

I don’t have a dog;

I don’t have a cat;

I don’t have a fish

Or a bird or a rat.

Instead of these pets,

I have worms in a jar;

They can’t catch a ball,

And they don’t run real far.

They don’t jump to see me

(In fact, I’m ignored);

It’s not real exciting

Unless I am bored.

I’d wanted a puppy,

A gerbil, or mouse—

A pet that would follow me

All through the house.

But Mom didn’t seem

To be keen on this thought;

She said I could have worms,

So it’s worms that I got.

My worms don’t make noise;

They do no real work;

They don’t get offended

When friends point and smirk.

It’s not too much fun;

It’s as dull as it gets

To be the kid who

Has worms for her pets.

                                   - Barbara Vance

Explanation of the Poem

The poem starts with the poet talking about how she doesn't have a dog, cat or fish. She talks about worms below this line. She explains that she has worms as a pet. She further describes how they don’t appeal to her; the worms neither catch the ball nor run. The worms don’t recognise her and the poet feels that she is being ignored, which makes owning worms as pets very boring.

The poet expresses that she wanted to have a dog or a cat as a pet which could play with her/him, unlike worms which don't play or make any noise. Her friends were not very impressed with her pet as well. However,her pet worms aren’t offended when her friends make fun of them.

A Worm

The next line is when the poet talks about how she has worms in a jar. It is confirmed that the worms are not pets, but are kept as pets for her instead.

In the last 2 lines the poet wonders why her mother didn't want her to have a dog as a pet and decides to get worms instead because of their noiseless nature and low work quotas. This poem shows how the speaker or poet is content with her pet and cares for them despite not having the pet, dog, mouse or gerbil she longed for. Her worms could be boring for her but she doesn’t neglect them.

About the Poet

Barbara Vance is a writer who has written many short stories, poems, and articles. She also works as a teacher at the college level to help students understand literature better. She also works as a writing teacher at the University of Maine in Farmington. She has also published many poems and short stories.

Barbara Vance

Worms for Pets Poem Summary

In this article, we learnt about the worm poem. This poem by Barbara Vance is one of the worm poems and is part of a series of poems that talks about what the poet wants from her mother versus what the mother thinks she should have. The mother gives the poet worms for her pets instead of a dog or cat because she feels that dogs and cats need more care and attention.

This poem relates to our lives in many ways whether we even have pets or not because it can show us how important it is to care for and value whatever we have, whether it’s a pet of our desire or not.