More Beloved Poems

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!