Other Verses of a Child
Just as a reminder, I was nine years of age, or younger, when I wrote the following verses.
The Sparrows
Hedge sparrow, house sparrow, tree sparrow, all,
Come and play with me at my call.
They're too timid as you see
So they will not play with me.
Hedge sparrow, house sparrow, tree sparrow, all,
You're too timid to come at my call.
Never mind, we won't bother, will we?
But in a month's time we shall see.
Hedge sparrow, house sparrow, tree sparrow, all,
You're not too timid to come at my call,
So let's have a jolly good play,
Yes we will, we'll play all day.
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I was interested in differentiating between apparently similar birds, and several rhymes "tackle" this theme. The constant first line of each verse and the use of "at my call" at the end of each second line are interesting features of this effort.
Angry Mr. Rook
"Caw! Caw!" said Mr. Rook,
"I cannot read my book,
Because I've lost my glasses
And I need them to look".
"Caw! Caw!" said Mr. Rook.
The structure is interesting, using a repeated last line to support the rhythm.
The Rook and the Raven
The Rook and the Raven are great big birds,
The Raven's the biggest though.
The Rook comes in summer and stays in winter,
But doesn't enjoy the snow.
The Raven, built so brave and strong -
A bird I've never seen -
Breeds on the coast, but not in Ireland,
Where I've never been.
I think this shows the interest I had developed in identifying different, superficially similar, birds by this stage. My interest in birds led on to becoming a member of the RSPB for a time, and of course to going out into the countryside to look for species new to me and observe their behaviour.
Around Windermere
Windermere's the biggest lake I know,
Many times for holidays there we go.
Sometimes peaks of mountains are covered with snow
And green pastures at their foot lie low.
Thrushes
The song thrush and the mistle thrush
Will not nest in a privet bush,
But in the fork of a tree-top, best,
Both the thrushes build their nest.
Here is another verse commenting on two similar species of bird. I'm not sure that the guide given is very accurate! "The Blackbird " is a little more accurate in this regard!
The Blackbird
The blackbird will nest in bushes or hedges,
Trimming his nest with old grass, for edges.
He even nests on a window sill
And the male we know by his big yellow bill.
The Wheatear and the Whinchat
The wheatear nests in a hole in the ground,
In a rabbit burrow the nest is found,
While the whinchat nests in nice long grass
And leads us away from the nest when we pass.
Little Things
A little bird sings her lovely song,
A little streamlet twists and winds along,
A little squirrel plays from early dawn so long
Nothing here for me, I feel, is wrong.
Songsters
The sparrow sings her early morning song,
The mistle thrush, she carries it along.
The starling sings with all his might and main
While the song thrush comes in now and again.
The blackbird sings with chords and notes so clear,
There's the chaffinch we always love to hear.
The lapwing sings with notes so loud and shrill,
The wren sings its song on the window-sill.
I was very interested by the idea of "the dawn chorus", and felt it was in some way mystical, so it doesn't surprise me that I wrote a verse about it. The verse earned 4 points (impressive!) at school, plus the stamp of no less a person than the Head Teacher, Norman Walkden!
The Pussy Cat
A black and white pussy cat walks over the lawn,
Sharpens her claws on a log that's been sawn,
Scratches and bites some cloth that's all torn,
Then runs in when her pads are quite worn.
The Robin
Come oh come, red breast, or Robin,
Start to hop and then you're bobbin'
Up and down and round and round,
Lightly skimming o'er the ground.
Limericks
I remember we'd been introduced to limericks at school. I thought they were neat, and still do. But I was never able to understand the Edward Lear limericks in which the last line merely repeated the first one. Unfortunately two of the three here are rather of that type! The last one may be slightly later than the first three.
There once was a crazy old hatter
Who kept growing fatter and fatter.
He ate up his pork
And swallowed his fork,
Rubbed his tummy and said "What's the matter?"
xxx
I one had a nice fish called Tish
Who jumped over the edge of his dish.
He soon cried so hard
That he flooded the yard
And made it much better for Tish.
I did have a goldfish called Tish. It survived for several years, including a near-death experience at school. It must have been left in de-oxygenated water, because after the apparently lifeless animal was put in fresh water it miraculously revived. I was so excited that I was unable to contain myself and ended up being put out of the class!
xxx
There once was a boxer from Chester,
Who met with a wrestler from Leicester,
They soon had a fight,
Then both fled in fright.
Aren't they silly in Chester and Leicester?
xxx
While fishing our John got a bite,
And a flying fish leapt into flight.
He went o'er the Atlantic
And got really frantic.
I hope that he'll hold on quite tight!
November 5th
Our bonfire is blazing high,
Flames are leaping towards the sky.
Then old Guy Fawkes gives a sigh -
"Was this the way I had to die?"
Fireworks are crackling near,
Some are there and some are here.
One old man is drinking beer,
As children at the old guy peer.
Getting Supper
Get your supper John,
When you've got your slippers on.
Now stop being funny!
In the pantry there's some honey.
On the table at the head
There's a slice or two of bread.
There's a knife near the pork
But you will not need the fork.
Be as quick as you can,
Get to bed my little man.
The Hay Cart
The hay cart creaks along the lane
With fresh, sweet-smelling hay.
The horses at their harness strain
In the merry month of May.
The horses turn into a gate,
Over a cobbled yard.
Then one horse neighs and says to it's mate -
"Isn't this work too hard!"
Planets
There's Pluto and there's Neptune,
There's Saturn and there's Mars.
There's Mercury and Venus,
All mixed about with stars.
The Circus
Crowds of people come and go,
Here and there and to and fro',
What is this, what is this thing
Coming in the circus ring?
It's an elephant, weighs ten ton!
Now the circus has begun.
All the clowns are full of jokes
Which they play on other folks.
All the horses, lovely prancers,
Two of them are even dancers.
Here's the lions, fierce and growling
Just like cats, they're always prowling.
Shetland ponies, one and all,
Obedient at their master's call.
The Gnome
I'm a little gnome,
The woodland is my home
It's a lovely place to live
And there I love to roam.
It's lovely in the wood
When the flowers are all in bud,
There's the tulip and the daffodil
Both wrapped up in a hood.
The Hedgehog
I wish I had a hedgehog,
A hedgehog for a pet.
His colour would be brown and black,
His prickles neatly set.
This little chap is very brave,
Although he's very small.
For he can even fight a snake
When rolled up in a ball.
This poem merited 1 point at school!
The Squirrel
In the wood near to my home
I know where there's a little dome.
This dome is the home of Tay,
A squirrel, and it is his drey.
Now Tay is timid as you see
And so he will not play with me.
But he will on Saturday
And that is not far away,
I will feed him as you see,
That will make him play with me.
Nuts and bread as well as cheese,
He says "Some more, sir, if you please".
(on Saturday)
Now young Tay will play all day
And he will not run away.
Now Tay and I will have a game,
I think it's a good job I came.
This was another verse written at school and earned 3 points! There again, I wonder how many boys of my age knew what a 'drey' was?
Claus
Claus he was a kindly man,
He left the children toys.
He soon came Saint then Santa Claus
And he was loved by girls and boys.
He left them sweets and bears and books,
He left them all he could.
He left them motor cars and dolls,
He really was so good.
That's why we have a Claus today.
That's why we get our toys.
I really think we're very lucky
Little girls and boys.
Puss
Puss is running on the lawn,
A plant pot she's espied.
She says "I'll make this my small den!"
And creeps right in to hide.
Among the waving daffodils
Puss is sitting there.
She doesn't need a cushion soft,
She doesn't need a chair!
Well, now I'd better go inside,
For ages there she'll lie.
But just before I go I'd better
Say "Young puss, goodbye!"
This was written at school to describe a picture of a cat sitting in an upturned plant pot, and I remember it was well received.