The Dirigible Balloon
Poetry for Children

The Guinea Pigs of … Peru!

It’s quite likely you’ve heard of the dear little pet
called the guinea pig. If you have, squeak!
Maybe you have a guinea pig, maybe you’ve met
two or more at a friend’s house. Wheek-wheek!
Well, these guinea pigs make up one species, one type –
there are others who’d love to meet you,
and they live in the mountains, with buff birds called snipe.
They’re the guinea pigs of … Peru!

Now the mountains are high and it’s cold at the top,
so the middle’s the guinea pigs’ street.
There is sun here, and rain, sometimes plenty a drop,
but they shelter in burrows, so neat!
They wear comfortable coats, of a medium weight
and a rather smart reddish-brown hue,
and they sit and they scamper, they stand not quite straight.
They’re the guinea pigs of … Peru!

About the Writer


Felicity Teague

Felicity Teague (Fliss for short) has a very serious job in publishing and enjoys writing poems during her playtime. Her poetry has appeared in a number of journals, including The HyperTexts, Snakeskin and The Ekphrastic Review. From 2014 to 2016, she was Poet-in-Residence of Happenstance Border Morris, a Morris dancing group in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire. She also enjoys art, birdwatching, films, music and photography, and she loves guinea pigs!