The Dirigible Balloon
Poetry for Children

Body Surfing

Listen to Helen ...
The surfing hippos from the Congo
ride the waves along Loango.
They body surf in salty seas
while taking tonnage off their knees.
They bathe away the bugs and grime
and have themselves the swell-est time.

About the Writer


Helen Kemp Zax

Helen Kemp Zax loves to write poetry, especially poems that rhyme. She was thrilled to be selected co-winner of the 2021 YorkMix International Children’s Poetry Prize, the 2018 MG Katherine Paterson Prize winner, and a 2019 Finalist. Her poetry appears in many wonderful children’s poetry anthologies like Chasing Clouds and in many magazines like The Caterpillar. Helen lives in Washington, D. C. with her husband and their crazy Aussie-doodle Huckleberry Finn.