OUR POETRY

Taranaki Daily News, 15 August 1931, Page 24 (Supplement)

OUR POETRY

EVERYTHING COMES TO HIM WHO WATTS. (Sent by Lalla Radcliffe). A Persian cat, but what of that? Why cushion soft to purr on? While I have nothing but a mat To rest mv shorter fur on. I will not light, but wail t might, Till ho goes out a-walking. On cushion soft I’ll spend the night, .And he can do tlje talking. THE OUTCAST. (■Sent by Jack Coatsworth). She says she likes sago, Especially large sago! She says she adore*' it—just sago, alone. No prunes to dlsginse it, 9 - And jam she’d despise it;. Just sago—large sago—and all on . its own. It’s hard to believe it, Most hard to believe it, But yet it is true (or she says it Is so). She really likes sago, Especially largo sago! I really do think that she’s not nice to know. HELPING COOK. (Sent by Jack Coatsworth). I’ve been doing cooking, I’ve been helping Cook; I’ve peeled a hard-boiled egg for salad, Look! JACK. (Sent by Dick. Dean.) Jack bo nimble, Jack, be quick, Jack, jump over the candlestick. DAISY ’MIDST THE DAISIES. (Sent by Eunice Ricketts), Where’s,my daisy hiding? Where’s my pretty pet? Mother wants her darling; cannot find her yet. Searches through the garden, Peeps behind each tree, Looks among the bushes, Where can Daisy be? Suddenly she finds her, Sitting' out of sight, Laughing little Daisy, ’Mid the daisies white. When she sees her mummy, Up she jumps a-glee, _ Daisy midst the daisies. ‘’Here "am I,’’ says she. THE DUNCE. (Sent by Inez Gopperth). Bad little Benjamin Wouldn’t go to school. He doesn’t know his tables, or A single grammar rule. He wouldn’t"'learn geography, Or say his A B C. Bad little Benjy’s nicknamed, Ignoramus B. Bad little Benjamin Wouldn’t learn to read; He wouldn’t /io .aritJunetie; ire s ven had indeed. He never used his spelling Book not even once, But played the truant every day. Oh, what a dreadful dunce! MAMMA’S KISSES. (Sent by Ruth Laird).A kiss when I wake in the morning, A kiss when I go to bed, A kiss when I burn my fingers, A kiss when I bump my head. A kiss when I give her trouble, A kiss when I give her joy; There’s nothing like Mamma’s kisses To her own little baby boy. SWEET PEAS. (Sent by Charlie Schuler). Sweet peas have many colours; And such a lovely smell. There’s reds, and pinks and yellow, And whites and inauves as well. They grow in gardens big and small, And window boxes, too, And even climb the garden wall To see what’s there, and who. PIT-A-PAT. (Sent by Charlie Schuler). Pitter-patter, pit-a-pat, There goes a fairy on the mat. Pitter-patter, come in here; Show no terror, show no fear. Pit-a-pat, the fairy man Goes along with his red fan. With a wave he cook us down, Then skips back to his Fairy Town. MY SHADOW. (Sent by Marie Coupe). I have a little shadow That goes in and out with mo, And what can be the use of him Is more than I can see. He is very, very like me From the heels up to the head, And I se him jump before me When I jump into my bed. The funniest thing about him Is the way he likes to grow. WHEN. (Sent by Tom Coupe). When pigs fly over hay stacks And cows roost in the trees, When rose-trees’ thorns arc tin-tacks, And big as liens arc bees, Then boys need not say, ‘‘Thank you,” And girls need not say, “Please.” ' A SHORT, SWEET TALE. (Sent by Phyllis Ricketts). Peter Pratt was so very, very fat, A fat, fat boy was Peter; He washed his face in a sugar basin To make his manners 'sweeter. He thought it funny to swallow honey, And treacle he loved to lick. Hark! What a warning! One dreadful morning Ho changed into a sugar stick. BIRDIES. (Sent by Reggie Ricketts). Birdies with broken wings, Hide from each other; But babies in trouble. Can run home to mother. ALL YELLOW. (Sent by Gwen. I’ittams.). A dandelion sprang on the lawn, All gaily dressed in yellow; He nodded in the springing grass, A jolly little fellow. A yellow bird flew from the treelie, too, was dressed in yellow — “The saucy thing to steal my coat! The thief, the wicked fellow!” A golden sunbeam came that way And eyed each little fellow; “Dear me, when one the fashion leads How common grows my yellow!

I MU. COCK-A-DOODT.E DO. (Sent by Daryl Sulzberger. Mr. Cock-a-doodle-do has a loud alarm; He wakens everybody up upon the farm. He stands upon the chicken coop like a cock upon a steeple: Coek-a-doodle-do, wake up, you lazy people! THE Iff.r MAN. (Sent by Molly ). I met a little elf man once Down where the lilies grow; I asked him why he was so small And why he "did not grow. He. slightly frowned, and with his eye He looked at me through and through. “I’m just as big for me,” .lie said, “As you are big for you.” IIUMPTY-DIDDLY-DEE. (Scut by Jean Sampson). Sing a song for baby, Ilumpty-diddly-dee! Half-a-dozen piggy wigs Sitting down to tea. Some had macaroni; Some had golden wheat; Some pushed with their noses, And others with their feet. One ate all the jelly; One ato all the bread; One was told to clean his plate, So wiped it on hi* head. Sing a song for baby, Huiupty-diddly-dee 1 Who’d like to be a piggywig Paddling in his tea? MUMMY HAS A MIRROR. (Sent by Pearl McFetridgc). Mummy has a mirror in her room and I can see, ( By going very tip-toed up, the little "girl that’s me; And in our garden there’s ft pond, set in a shady place,. And when my dog looked in, I saw his cheeky, furry face; And thought, a mirror’s funny, for it makes a thing seem more— Two little girls, two little dog*, and twice times two are four! TOO TALL! (Sent by Merle Druce).. Nathaniel Jenks was seven feet tall, a very unfortunate man; His knees would worry tjie tip of his nose when sitting in his sedan! He never could feel at ease at all whatever position he tried, So he knocked a hole in the roof and the floor, and now he toddles inside. ALMOND BLOSSOM. (Sent by Merle Druce). The doctor came last night and said That 1 have got to stay in bed. He “thinks it is a touch of ’flu,” But I don’t mind, ’tween me and you, For through the window I can see The .blossom o.ux>ur ■ almond tree." too tired to read, or play With Teddy, or with ’Melia May, And so I like to lie quite still — I s’pose it is because I’m ill. But through the- window I can see The blossom on our almond tree. It seems a funny thing to ’fess, But oh! you’d "never, never guess How much I love those dear pink flowers. I lie and look at them for hours, For through the window I can see The blossom on our almond tree. FROST ON THE HILLS. (Sent by Isabel Waller). Aw, Mum! I went without my lunch. Look, violets! Smell! I found a bunch Down by the lilac, where we play; I’m taking them to little Fay. She’s nicer than the other girls; She’s got blue eyes and weeny curls. She cried —she couldn’t do a sum. I’ll catch the others, good-bye, mum. Those noisy boys, the old clock ticks, Will not be home till nearly six. Dear God, don’t let the pony fall, The road’s so steep and Dick’s so j small! WEEDING. (Sent by Annie Thomas). We have a garden—rather small, it’s true, yet dear withal. In it we cherish roses, pansies blue, and violets small, And in the evening, walking ’midst our flowers, Their fragrance pays us for our hours. JEMIMA. (Sent by Josephine Wheatley). There was a little girl, who had a little curl, Right in the middle of her forehead. When she was good she was very, very good. And when she was bad she was horrid. She stood on her head in her little trundle bed, With nobody there for to hinder; She ecreamed, and she squalled, And she yelled and she bawled, And she drummed her little heels against the winder. Her mother heard the noise and thought it was the boys, Playing in the empty attic. She rushed upstairs, and caught her unawares, And spanked her most emphatic.. FORGET IT. (Sent by Eileen Richardson). When anything looks black as night, No friendly gleam appears in sight, Don’t groan at your unhappy plight — Forget it. And if good fortune smile on you, Though maybe it’s long overdue, But noise it not abroad, not you— Forget it. Some earthly praise you, too, may gain. Don’t dwell on it, ’twill make you vain, To mention it yon must disdain — Forget it. If one should chance to treat you ill, Just carry on, as though ’twere nil; It’s mighty hard, but foot the bill — Forget it. ACCIDENTS. (Sent by Ivy Charleton). .A slender and ladylike stork Ate her food with a knife and fork; And when she drank wine Her 'manner* were fine, Till one day she swallowed the cork. A tortoise-shell cat went to sleep in a hat, And found it an excellent bed; . But the trouble began ■ When a short-sighted mart, . By mistake, put the hat on his head.

A MOTTO. (Sent by Rex Woodley.) Just think of all things cheerful, And sink a happy song, And hunt up things to laugh about, To help the day along. Look on the bright side every time, J Don’t waste your days repining, When any clouds look dark and dull Turn "out the silver lining. KIND WORDS. (Sent by Gwen Pittams.) Kind hearts are in the garden. Kind thoughts are the roots, Kind words are the blossoms, Kind deeds are the fruits. Little moments make an hour, Little thoughts a book, Little seeds a tree or flower, Water drops a brook. Little deeds of faith and love, Make a home for you above. A WISH. (Sent by Noeline Tilly.) I’d love to give a party, To all the fairy folk, a With scarlet leaves for plates—t Oh! It would be such a joke I And every little lady fay, Should have her acorn cup, To hold her fragrant .roseleaf tea, Until she drank it up. And every little elf should have His acorn pipe to smoke, I’d lo- r to give a party, Beneath the grand old oak. MRS. BROWN MOUSIE. (Sent by Jean Shrimpton.) I went to the woods, I went looking for holly, To trim up my nurs’ry, And make it look jolly. Anu just by an oak tree, I saw a wee housie, And there with a latch key, Ran Mrs. Brown-Mousie. It was plain she’d been doing ' Her Christmas Eve shopping, And she’d run from the town All the way without stopping. She had got for her husband A nice piece oi crumpet, ~ And for her two babies A doll and a trumpet. And under her arm Was a mistletoe berry, To trim up her nurs’ry, And make it look merry. And a wee Brussels sprout For her store cupboard shelfie— That’s all, I'm afraid, She had bought for he-rselfie. Said I as I passed, “Happy Christmas, good inousie!” She jumped, and she made Such a rush for her housie. But soon from the window I heard someone speaking Some tiny wee words. In a tiny wee squeaking. “When I’m out I’m so scared “I don’t know what to do, sir, “It’s only my nenes — _ “Happy Christmas to you, sir!

RAGGED ROBINS.. (Sent by Murielle Rae, Eltham.) The buttercups are bold as brass, The daisies lift their silver And sorrel rings her rusty bells, Over the happy summer fields. And down by the wild? rose hedge I see Dear ragged Robins waiting me. Fine ladies, waxy- pink and white, The roses lift their sweet proud faces, Milkmaids curtsey to the breeze, Down by the ditch’s shady places, But Robin lifts his head to spy If I at last am passing by. READY FOR DUTY. (Sent by Dorothy Dittams). Daffy-down-dilly came up in the cold, Through the brown mold, Although the March breezes blew- keen on her face, Although, the white snow lay. on many a place. Daffy-down-dilly had heard underground The sweet rushing sound Of the streams, as they burst off their white winter chains, Of the whistling spring winds and tho pattering rains. “Now then,” thought daffy, deep down in her heart, “It’s time I should start.” So she pushed her soft leaves through the hard frozen ground Quite up to the surface, and then she looked round. There was snow' all about her—gray clouds overhead— The trees all looked dead. Then how do you think daffy-down-dilly felt When the sun would not shine, and the ice would not melt-? “Cold weather,” thought Daffy, still working away, “The earth’s hard to-day!” ‘There’s but a half Inch of my leaves to be seen, And two-thirds of that is more yellow than green! “I can't do much yet: but I’ll do what I can, It’s well I began! For, unless I can manage to lift up my head, The people will think that the springtime is dead.” So, little by little, she brought her leaves out, All clustered about; And then her bright flowers began to unfold, Till Daily stood robed in her spring green and gold. Oh, Daily-down-dilly! so brave and so true! Would all were like you— So ready for duty in all sorts of weather, And royal to courage and duty together. SAY THIS QUICKLY. (Sent by Nancy Baldwin.) Peter Pipei- picked a peck of pickled pepper, A peck of pickled pepper Peter Piper picked; If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper. Where’s the : peck of pickled pepper Peter Piper picked 9 ’