To a lady seen from the train

0 why do you walk through the fields in gloves, Missing so much and so much?

0 fat white woman whom nobody loves,

Why do you walk through the fields in gloves, When the grass is soft as the breast of doves And shivering-sweet to the touch?

0 why do you walk through the fields in gloves, Missing so much and so much?

 

(5)

0 my Love's like a red, red rose That's newly sprung in June:

0 my Love's like the melody That's sweetly played in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonny lass, So deep in love am I:

FRANCES CORNFORD

(1886- 1960)

And I will love thee still, my dear, Till all the seas gang dry:

Till all the seas gang dry, my dear, And the rocks melt with the sun;

I will love thee still, my dear, While the sands of life shall run.

And fare thee well, my only Love! And fare thee well a while!

And I will come again, my Love, Though it were ten thousand mile.

 

 

(6)

UPON WESTMINSTER BRIDGE

 

 

ROBERT BURNS

(1759- 1796)

 

 

September 3, 1802

Earth has not anything to show more fair: Dull would he be of soul who could pass by A sight so touching in its majesty:

This City now doth, like a garment, wear

The beauty of the morning: silent, bare,

Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie Open unto the fields and to the sky,

All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.

Never did the sun more beautifully steep In his first splendour valley, rock, or hill; Ne'er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!

The river glideth at his own sweet will: Dear God! the very houses seem asleep; And all that mighty heart is lying still!

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

(1770- 1850)

(7)

TO A POET A THOUSAND YEARS HENCE

I who am dead a thousand years, And wrote this sweet archaic song, Send you my words for messengers The way I shall not pass along.

I care not if you bridge the seas, Or ride secure the cruel sky,

Or build consummate palaces Of metal or of masonry.

But have you wine and music still, And statues and a bright-eyed love, And foolish thoughts of good and ill, And prayers to them who sit above?

How shall we conquer? Like a wind That falls at eve our fancies blow, And old Maeonides 1 the blind

Said it three thousand years ago.

0 friend unseen, unborn, unknown, Student of our sweet English tongue, Read out my words at night, alone:

I was a poet, I was young.

Since I can never see your face, And never shake you by the hand,

I send my soul through time and space. To greet you. You will understand.

JAMES ELROY FLECKER

(1884- 1915)

(8)

PIPPA'S SONG

The year's at the spring, The day's at the mom; Morning's at seven;

The hill-side's dew-pearled; The lark's on the wing;

The snail is on the thorn; God's in His Heaven -

All's right with the world. SNAIL

ROBERT BROWNING

(1812- 1889)

(9)

CROSSING THE BAR

Sunset and evening star, And one clear call for me!

 

1 Homer.

 

And may there be no moaning of the bar, When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep, Too full for sound and foam

When that which drew from out the boundless deep Tums again home.

Twilight and evening bell, And after that the dark!

And may there be no sadness of farewell, When I embark.

For though from out the boume of Time and Place The flood may bear me far.

I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crossed the bar.

 

* * *

H o b: I can't be bothered with poetry, unless it's comic poetry.

01a f: Do you know any comic poetry, Hob?

H o b: Well, I know

There was a young lady of Niger, Who went for a ride on a tiger, They returned from the ride

With the lady inside

And a smile on the face of the tiger.

M r. P r i e s t 1e y: That's a limerick., _...,. -

L u c i 11e: What are limericks?

M r. P r i e s t 1e y: They are a form of comic verse. They generally begin: "There was a..."; they have five lines, three long ones (the first, second and fifth) with the same rhyme, and two short ones with another rhyme. There are hundreds of them in Engsh. The most famous ones were those written by Edward Lear.

F r i e d a: Could you tell us one of his?

M r. P r i e s t 1e y: Well, one of the best known is:

There was an old man with a beard, Who said: "It is just as I feared!

Two owls and a hen, Pour larks and a wren,

Have all built their nests in my beard".

P e d r o: I know a limerick about a Japanese gentleman who had such a long name that it took several days to pro­ nounce it.

M r. P r i e s t 1e y: All limericks are not quite suitable for a class like this; but I know that one, and you can tell it quite safely.

P e d r o: Thank you, sir. It goes: There was a great man of Japan, Whose name on a Tuesday began; It lasted through Sunday

Till midnight on Monday

And sounded like stones in a can.

M r. P r i e s t 1e y: I don't think the limerick is to be found in any language except English. Neither is the Clerihew.

J a n: That's a strange word. Whatever is a Clerihew?

M r. P r i e s t 1e y: It's a form of comic verse invented by Edmund Clerihew Bentlev2. A Clerihew has only four lines and is a sort of comic "biography". In fact Mr.Bentley called h is book of Clerihews Biography for Beginners.

1 (1812- 1888).

2 (1875- 1956).

L u c i 11e: I'd love to hear some of them.

M r. P r i e s t 1e y: Well, here's the opening one: The Art of Biography

Is different from Geography. Geography is about maps,

But Biography is about chaps.

F ri e d a: That's lovely. Do you know any more? M r. P r i e s t l e y: Well1here are two:

What I like about Clive

Is that he is no longer alive. There's a great deal to be said For being dead.

and

Sir Christopher Wren2

Said, "I am going to dine with some men.

If anybody calls

Say I'm designing St. Paul's".

L u c i 11e: I saw a little poem a day or two ago about a boy called Jim. It reminded me of Hob. It went:

"Pudding and pie" Said Jim, "Oh my!"

"Which would you rather?" Said his father.

"Both", said Jim. That's just like him.

H o b: It's a funny thing but I saw a little poem a day or two ago that reminded me of Lucille. It went:

"She could dance till long past midnight, She could swim and she could run,

She could row upon the river;

And to climb, she thought, was fun. She'd play golf from morn till evening, Or tennis all day long,

But she never touched the housework - Because she wasn't very strong".

 

 

1 Lord Clive (1725- 1774). Conquered Bengal, founded British rule in India.

2 (1632- 1723). England's greatest architect. Planned the rebuilding of St. Paul's Cathedral and fifty-two other churches in London after the Great Fire in 1666.

LESSON 37