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,
Always 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.

[Michael Flanders and Donald Swann]