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Poetry

 

  • Epitaphs
  • Hillaire Belloc: "Matilda"

  • Robert Herrick: "Upon Julia's Clothes"

    Whenas in silks my Julia goes,
    Then, then (methinks) how sweetly flows
    That liquefaction of her clothes.
    Next, when I cast mine eyes, and see
    That brave vibration each way free,
    O how that glittering taketh me!
  • Antonio Jacinto: "Letter from a Contract Worker"

  • Mary Ann Hoberman: "Backward Town"

    “ The folk who live in Backward Town
    Are inside out and upside down.
    They wear their hats inside their heads
    And go to sleep beneath their beds.
    They only eat the apple peeling
    And take their walks across the ceiling."

  • Oglala Lakota:

    “When I'm born I'm black, when I grow up I'm black, when I'm in the sun I'm black, when I'm sick I'm black, when I die I'm black, and you... when you're born you're pink, when you grow up you're white, when you're cold you're blue, when you're sick you're blue, when you die you're green and you dare call me colored”

  • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: The Song of Hiawatha (Disney ver)

    At the door on summer evenings
    Sat the little Hiawatha;
    Heard the whispering of the pine-trees,
    Heard the lapping of the waters,
    Sounds of music, words of wonder;
    'Minne-wawa!" said the Pine-trees,
    Mudway-aushka!" said the water.

    Saw the fire-fly, Wah-wah-taysee,
    Flitting through the dusk of evening,
    With the twinkle of its candle
    Lighting up the brakes and bushes,
    And he sang the song of children,
    Sang the song Nokomis taught him:

    "Wah-wah-taysee, little fire-fly,
    Little, flitting, white-fire insect,
    Little, dancing, white-fire creature,
    Light me with your little candle,
    Hiawatha satt i ljumma sommarkvällar
    lyssnade på sus från tallar
    hörde porlande av vatten
    tallen sjöng sitt "minne-wawa!"
    vattnet mynnade "Mudway-aush"
    vinden viskade sin sång
    naturen sjöng sin eviga musik.

    Pojken såg hur ljus från flugan, wah-wah-taysee,
    stilla flöt i kvällens skymning
    såg hur blad och grenar plötsligt lystes upp
    och sedan sjönk tillbaks i mörkret
    pojken nynnade en sång han lärt sig av Nokomis:

    "wah-wah-taysee", eldens fluga,
    Lilla vackra, lätta väsen,
    lys för mig i nattens mörket!"

  • Navajo: Beauty Way (peace dance inspired by Najaho ritual Inspirerad av Navajo-indianernas ritual Skönhetens väg)

    I walk with beauty before me
    I walk with beauty behind me
    I walk with beauty above me
    I walk with beauty below me
    I walk with beauty all around me
    When I walk the beauty way.

    All my thoughts are beautiful, HO!
    Everything I say is beautiful, HO!
    Everything I do is beautiful, HO!
    When I walk the beauty way.
    Jag går med skönhet framför mig
    Jag går med skönhet bakom mig
    Jag går med skönhet över mig
    Jag går med skönhet under mig
    Jag går med skönhet runtomkring mig
    När som jag vandrar Sköhetens Väg.

    Alla mina tankar blir vackra - HO!
    Allting jag säger blir vackert - HO!
    Allting jag gör blir vackert - HO!
    När som jag vandrar Skönhetens Väg.

  • Niebuhr: The Serenity Prayer (a favourite of 12-step programs)

    God, grant me the serenity
    To accept the things I cannot change
    Courage to change the things I can
    And wisdom to know the difference.

  • C.H. Peacock: "I Tune the Instrument"

    Though fear and hatred make us blind,
    And though the cup of bitterness each hour
    More bitter grows, one comfort lives:
    Still can forgiveness cancel out all wrong
    And truth and beauty come again to flower.
  • E.A. Poe: The Raven

  • Siegfried Sasson: "The General"

    ‘GOOD-MORNING; good-morning!’ the General said
    When we met him last week on our way to the line.
    Now the soldiers he smiled at are most of ’em dead,
    And we’re cursing his staff for incompetent swine
    ‘He’s a cheery old card,’ grunted Harry to Jack
    As they slogged up to Arras with rifle and pack.
        .    .    .    .
    But he did for them both by his plan of attack.
  • Shakespeare: Sonnet 18 
  • Sydney Carter: Lord of the Dance
  • 'Twas a Summer Day in Winter

More info

      Clerihew  Funny Poems  Limericks  Religious  Nocturne

Match these titles to the poems below

  • Titles: Mice • My Brother • The Lion • Cats Sleep Anywhere • Keep a Poem in Your Pocket • Patience tålamod  • Song About Oliphaunt (=elephant)
  • Poems:

_______________________ by Rose Fyleman
I think mice
are rather nice.

Their tails are long,
Their faces small,
They haven't any
Chins at all.

Their ears are pink,
Their teeth are white.
They run around
The house at night.

They nibble things
They shouldn't touch
And no one seems
To like them much.

But I think mice
are nice.

_______________________     by Tolkien
Grey as a mouse,
Big as a house,
Nose like a snake,
I make the earth shake,
As I tramp through the grass;
Trees crack as I pass.
With horns in my mouth
I walk in the South,
Flapping big ears.
Beyond count of years
I stump round and round,
Never lie on the ground,
Not even to die.
Oliphaunt am I,
Biggest of all,
Huge, old, and tall.
If ever you'd met me
You wouldn't forget me.
If you never do,
You won't think I'm true;
But old Oliphaunt am I,
And I never lie.

_______________________   by Jack Prelutsky
The lion has a golden mane
and under it a clever brain.
He lies around and idly roars
and lets the lioness do the chores.

_______________________   by Eleanor Farjeon
Cats sleep anywhere, any table, any chair.
Top of piano, window-ledge, in the middle, on the edge.
Open draw, empty shoe, anybody's lap will do.
Fitted in a cardboard box, in the cupboard with your frocks.
Anywhere! They don't care! Cats sleep anywhere.

_______________________   by Marci Ridlon
My brother's worth about two cents,
As far as I can see.
I simply cannot understand
Why they would want a "he".
He spends a good part of his day
Asleep inside the crib,
And when he eats, he has to wear
A stupid baby bib.
He cannot walk and cannot talk
And cannot throw a ball.
In fact, he can't do anything--
He's just no fun at all.
It would have been more sensible,
As far as i can see.
Instead of getting one like him
To get one just like me.

 _______________________   by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers
Keep a poem in your pocket
and a picture in your head
and you'll never feel lonely
at night when you're in bed.

The little poem will sing to you.
The little picture it brings to you
A dozen dreams to dance to you
At night when your in bed.

So---

Keep a picture in your pocket
And a poem in your head
And you'll never feel lonely
At night when your in bed.


_______________________    by Bobbie Katz (minimally edited)
Chocolate Easter bunny
In a jelly bean nest,
I'm saving you for very last
Because I love you best.
I'll only take a nibble
From the tip of your ear
And one bite from the other side
Don't look at me with fear.
Yum, you’re so delicious!
I didn't mean to eat
Your chocolate tail till Tuesday.
Opps! There go your feet!
I wonder how your back tastes
With all that chocolate hair.
I never thought your tummy
Was only filled with air!
Chocolate Easter bunny in a jelly bean nest,
I'm saving you for very last
Because I love you best.

Rhymes (Nursery rhymes etc)