Here are some of my favourite poems from the Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodson, aka Lewis Carroll!
Jabberwocky
'Twas brilig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe.
All mimsy were the borogoves
And the mome raths outgrabe.
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son;
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"
He took his vorpal sword in hand.
Long time the manxome foe he sought -
So rested he, by the Tumtum tree
And stood awhile, in thought.
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack,
And left it dead - and with it's head
He went galumphing back.
"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh, Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.
'Twas brilig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe.
All mimsy were the borogoves
And the mome raths outgrabe.
You Are Old Father William
"You are old, Father William," the young man said,
"And your hair has become very white.
And yet you incessantly stand on your head.
Do you think, at your age, it is right?"
"In my youth," Father William replied to his son,
"I feared it might injure the brain,
But, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,
Why! I do it again and again!"
"You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before,
And have grown most uncommonly fat!
Yet you turned a back somersault in at the door!
Pray, what is the reason for that?"
"In my youth," said the sage, as he shook his grey locks,
"I kept all my limbs very supple,
By the use of this ointment - one shilling the box!
Allow me to sell you a couple!"
"You are old," said the youth, "and your jaws are too weak
For anything tougher than suet.
Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak!
Pray, how did you manage to do it?"
"In my youth," said his father, "I took to the law,
And argued each case with my wife.
And the muscular strength which it gave to my jaw
Has lasted the rest of my life!"
"You are old," said the youth. "One would hardly suppose
That your eye was as steady as ever,
Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose!
What made you so awfully clever?"
"I have answered three questions, and that is enough!"
Said his father, "Don't give yourself airs!
Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff?
Be off, or I'll kick you downstairs!"
How Doth the Little Crocodile...
How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tale
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale.
How cheerfully he seems to grin!
How neatly spread his claws!
And welcomes little fishes in
With gently smiling jaws.
'Tis the Voice of the Lobster
'Tis the voice of the lobster. I heard him declare,
"You have baked me too brown! I must sugar my hair!"
As a duck, with it's eyelids, so he, with his nose,
Trims his belt and his buttons and turns out his toes.
When the sands are all dry, he's as gay as a lark
And will talk, in contemptuous tones, of the shark.
But, when the tide rises, and sharks are around
His voice has a timid and tremulous sound.
I passed by his garden, and marked, with one eye,
How the owl and the panther were sharing a pie.
The panther took pie-crust, and gravy, and meat,
While the owl had the dish as it's share of the treat.
When the pie was all finished, the owl, as a boon,
Was kindly permitted to pocket the spoon.
While the panther received knife and fork with a growl
And concluded the banquet.......by eating the owl!
And now one or two by Pam Ayres!
I am a Witney Blanket
I am a Witney blanket
Original and best.
You know you'll never get cold feet
With me across your chest!
I am a Dry-Stone Waller
I am a dry-stone waller.
All day I dry-stone wall.
Of all appalling callings
Dry-stone walling's worst of all!
Saturday 25 September 2010
Poems I Enjoyed as a Child
Weather
Whether the weather be fine,
Or whether the weather be not,
Whether the weather be cold,
Or whether the weather be hot,
We'll weather the weather
Whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not!
Anon
A Calendar
January brings the snow,
Makes our feet and fingers glow.
February brings the rain,
Thaws the frozen lake again.
March brings breezes, loud and shrill,
To stir the dancing daffodil.
April brings the primrose sweet,
Scatters daisies at our feet.
May brings flocks of pretty lambs
Skipping by their fleecy dams.
June brings tulips, lilies, roses,
Fills the children's hands with posies.
Hot July brings cooling showers,
Apricots and gillyflowers.
August brings the sheaves of corn,
Then the harvest home is borne.
Warm September brings the fruit;
Sportsmen then begin to shoot.
Fresh October brings the pheasant;
Then to gather nuts is pleasant.
Dull November brings the blast;
Then the leaves are whirling fast.
Chill December brings the sleet,
Blazing fire, and Christmas treat.
Sara Coleridge
What Is Pink?
What is pink? A rose is pink
By the fountain's brink.
What is red? A poppy's red
In it's barley bed.
What is blue? The sky is blue
Where the clouds float through.
What is white? A swan is white
Sailing in the light.
What is yellow? Pears are yellow,
Rich and ripe and mellow.
What is green? The grass is green,
With small flowers between.
What is violet? Clouds are violet
In the summer twilight.
What is orange? Why, an orange,
Just an orange!
Christina Georgina Rossetti
Two Little Kittens
Two little kittens, one stormy night,
Began to quarrel, and then to fight;
One had a mouse, the other had none,
And that's the way the quarrel begun.
"I'll have that mouse," said the biggest cat;
"You'll have that mouse? We'll see about that!"
"I will have that mouse," said the eldest son;
"You shan't have the mouse," said the little one.
I told you before 'twas a stormy night
When those two little kittens began to fight;
The old woman seized her sweeping broom,
And swept the two kittens right out of the room.
The ground was covered in frost and snow,
And the two little kittens had nowhere to go;
So they laid them down on the mat at the door,
While the old woman finished sweeping the floor.
Then they crept in, as quiet as mice,
All wet with the snow, and as cold as ice,
For they found it was better, that stormy night,
To lie down and sleep than to quarrel and fight.
Anon
Time to Rise
A birdie with a yellow bill
Hopped upon the window-sill,
Cocked his shining eye and said:
'Ain't you 'shamed, you sleepy-head?
Robert Louis Stevenson
Whether the weather be fine,
Or whether the weather be not,
Whether the weather be cold,
Or whether the weather be hot,
We'll weather the weather
Whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not!
Anon
A Calendar
January brings the snow,
Makes our feet and fingers glow.
February brings the rain,
Thaws the frozen lake again.
March brings breezes, loud and shrill,
To stir the dancing daffodil.
April brings the primrose sweet,
Scatters daisies at our feet.
May brings flocks of pretty lambs
Skipping by their fleecy dams.
June brings tulips, lilies, roses,
Fills the children's hands with posies.
Hot July brings cooling showers,
Apricots and gillyflowers.
August brings the sheaves of corn,
Then the harvest home is borne.
Warm September brings the fruit;
Sportsmen then begin to shoot.
Fresh October brings the pheasant;
Then to gather nuts is pleasant.
Dull November brings the blast;
Then the leaves are whirling fast.
Chill December brings the sleet,
Blazing fire, and Christmas treat.
Sara Coleridge
What Is Pink?
What is pink? A rose is pink
By the fountain's brink.
What is red? A poppy's red
In it's barley bed.
What is blue? The sky is blue
Where the clouds float through.
What is white? A swan is white
Sailing in the light.
What is yellow? Pears are yellow,
Rich and ripe and mellow.
What is green? The grass is green,
With small flowers between.
What is violet? Clouds are violet
In the summer twilight.
What is orange? Why, an orange,
Just an orange!
Christina Georgina Rossetti
Two Little Kittens
Two little kittens, one stormy night,
Began to quarrel, and then to fight;
One had a mouse, the other had none,
And that's the way the quarrel begun.
"I'll have that mouse," said the biggest cat;
"You'll have that mouse? We'll see about that!"
"I will have that mouse," said the eldest son;
"You shan't have the mouse," said the little one.
I told you before 'twas a stormy night
When those two little kittens began to fight;
The old woman seized her sweeping broom,
And swept the two kittens right out of the room.
The ground was covered in frost and snow,
And the two little kittens had nowhere to go;
So they laid them down on the mat at the door,
While the old woman finished sweeping the floor.
Then they crept in, as quiet as mice,
All wet with the snow, and as cold as ice,
For they found it was better, that stormy night,
To lie down and sleep than to quarrel and fight.
Anon
Time to Rise
A birdie with a yellow bill
Hopped upon the window-sill,
Cocked his shining eye and said:
'Ain't you 'shamed, you sleepy-head?
Robert Louis Stevenson
The Long-Awaited Answers!!!!
1. 12 Letters of the Alphabet
2. 7 Days of the Week
3. 7 Wonders of the World
4. 12 Signs of the Zodiac
5. 66 Books of the Bible
6. 52 Cards in a Pack (Without Jokers)
7. 13 Stripes in the United States Flag
8. 18 Holes on a Golf Course
9. 39 Books of the Old Testament
10. 5 Toes on a Foot
11. 90 Degrees in a Right Angle
12. 3 Blind Mice (See How They Run)
13. 32 is the Temperature in Degrees Fahrenheit at which Water Freezes
14 15 Players in a Rugby Team
15. 3 Wheels on a Tricycle
16. 100 Cents in a Dollar
17. 11 Players in a Football (Soccer) Team
18. 12 Months in a Year
19. 13 is Unlucky For Some
20. 8 Tentacles on an Octopus
21. 29 Days in February in a Leap Year
22. 27 Books in the New Testament
23. 365 Days in a Year
24. 13 Loaves in a Bakers Dozen
25. 52 Weeks in a Year
26. 9 Lives of a Cat
27. 60 Minutes in an Hour
28. 23 Pairs of Chromosomes in the Human Body
29. 64 Squares on a Chess Board
30. 15 Men on a Dead Man's Chest
2. 7 Days of the Week
3. 7 Wonders of the World
4. 12 Signs of the Zodiac
5. 66 Books of the Bible
6. 52 Cards in a Pack (Without Jokers)
7. 13 Stripes in the United States Flag
8. 18 Holes on a Golf Course
9. 39 Books of the Old Testament
10. 5 Toes on a Foot
11. 90 Degrees in a Right Angle
12. 3 Blind Mice (See How They Run)
13. 32 is the Temperature in Degrees Fahrenheit at which Water Freezes
14 15 Players in a Rugby Team
15. 3 Wheels on a Tricycle
16. 100 Cents in a Dollar
17. 11 Players in a Football (Soccer) Team
18. 12 Months in a Year
19. 13 is Unlucky For Some
20. 8 Tentacles on an Octopus
21. 29 Days in February in a Leap Year
22. 27 Books in the New Testament
23. 365 Days in a Year
24. 13 Loaves in a Bakers Dozen
25. 52 Weeks in a Year
26. 9 Lives of a Cat
27. 60 Minutes in an Hour
28. 23 Pairs of Chromosomes in the Human Body
29. 64 Squares on a Chess Board
30. 15 Men on a Dead Man's Chest
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