| |
|
A Cake
Cooks made a cake and such a cake!
Outside it is as white as snow,
And oh, how long it took to bake,
We thought the time would never go!
It is for Tommy's birthday feast,
And Margery, and Will, and Fanny
Will help to eat it all,--at least
We will save some for Nurse and Annie.
|
|
The Castle Builder
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
A gentle boy, with soft and silken locks,
A dreamy boy, with brown and tender eyes,
A castle-builder, with his wooden blocks,
And towers that touch imaginary skies.
A fearless rider on his father's knee,
An eager listener unto stories told
At the Round Table of the nursery,
Of heroes and adventures manifold.
There will be other towers for thee to build;
There will be other steeds for thee to ride;
There will be other legends, and all filled
With greater marvels and more glorified.
Build on, and make thy castles high and fair,
Rising and reaching upward to the skies;
Listen to voices in the upper air,
Nor lose thy simple faith in mysteries.
|
The Children's Hour
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow |
Between the dark and the daylight,
When the night is beginning to lower,
Comes a pause in the day's occupations,
That is known as the Children's Hour.
I hear in the chamber above me
The patter of little feet,
The sound of a door that is opened,
And voices soft and sweet.
From my study I see in the lamplight,
Descending the broad hall stair,
Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra,
And Edith with golden hair.
A whisper, and then a silence:
Yet I know by their merry eyes
They are plotting and planning together
To take me by surprise.
A sudden rush from the stairway,
A sudden raid from the hall!
By three doors left unguarded
They enter my castle wall!
|
They climb up into my turret
O'er the arms and back of my chair;
If I try to escape, they surround me;
They seem to be everywhere.
They almost devour me with kisses,
Their arms about me entwine,
Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen
In his Mouse-Tower on the Rhine!
Do you think, O blue-eyed banditti,
Because you have scaled the wall,
Such an old mustache as I am
Is not a match for you all!
I have you fast in my fortress,
And will not let you depart,
But put you down into the dungeon
In the round-tower of my heart.
And there will I keep you forever,
Yes, forever and a day,
Till the walls shall crumble to ruin,
And molder in dust away!
|
| Back to Top |
|
A Child's Laughter
Algernon Charles Swinburne
All the bells of heaven may ring,
All the birds of heaven may sing,
All the wells on earth may spring,
All the winds on earth may bring
All sweet sounds together
Sweeter far than all things heard,
Hand of harper, tone of bird,
Sound of woods at sundawn stirred,
Welling water's winsome word,
Wind in warm wan weather,
One thing yet there is, that none
Hearing ere its chime be done
Knows not well the sweetest one
Heard of man beneath the sun,
Hoped in heaven hereafter;
Soft and strong and loud and light,
Very sound of very light
Heard from morning's rosiest height,
When the soul of all delight
Fills a child's clear laughter.
Golden bells of welcome rolled
Never forth such notes, nor told
Hours so blithe in tones so bold,
As the radiant mouth of gold
Here that rings forth heaven.
If the golden-crested wren
Were a nightingale -- why, then,
Something seen and heard of men
Might be half as sweet as when
Laughs a child of seven.
|
|
Clouds
Curly clouds of snowy white,
Fleecy islands in the light,
Prettier than cotton-wool,
Come and be my bed to-night.
E'en a king would not disdain
Golden cloud for counterpane,
White ones for the sheets so cool,
Pillows like a silken skein!
Oh! to sleep and dream, and wake
With the cloud's first morning shake,
Hear the broad Earth stir below,
Watch the shining daylight break!
Lying safe upon my cloud,
Feeling like a fairy proud,
Sailing softly I should go,
Singing like the larks aloud!
|
|
Count Your Blessings
Today, upon the bus I saw a lovely girl with golden hair,
I envied her, she seemed so gay, and I wished I were so fair,
When suddenly she rose to leave, and I saw her hobble down the aisle,
She had one leg, and wore a crutch, and as she passed, a smile.
Oh God, forgive me when I whine...
I have two legs. The world is mine.
And then I stopped to buy some sweets, The lad who sold them had such charm,
I talk to him: he seemed so glad... if I were late 'twould do no harm,
And as I left he said to me :"Thank you. You have been so kind.
It's nice to talk to folks like you. You see," he said, "I'm blind".
Oh God, forgive me when I whine...
I have two eyes. The world is mine.
Later, walking down the street, I saw a child with eyes of blue.
He stood and watched the others play; it seemed he knew not what to do.
I stopped a moment, then I said, "Why don't you join the others, dear?"
He looked ahead without a word, and then I knew he could not hear.
Oh God, forgive me when I whine...
I have two ears. The world is mine.
With legs to take me where I'd go,
With eyes to see the sunset glow,
Two ears to hear what I would know...
Oh God, forgive me when I whine...
I'm blessed indeed. The world is mine.
|
|
Cuckoo, Flowers And Daisies
Cuckoo-Flowers and daisies,
Grasses gray with dew,
Sunbeams of buttercups,
And a sky all blue.
Primroses and cowslips,
Bluebells and sweet may,
And a cuckoo calling
Far, far away.
Forget-me-nots and cresses,
In the streamlet blue,
Fly a little nearer,
O Cuckoo, do!
|
Back to Main Index
1713
© copyright The Lord's Rain.
All rights reserved.
Graphics by: moody motifs
|
|
|