ATAYA POETRY: CLASSIC POEMS FOR CHILDREN

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Two Little Kittens

~Anonymous (circa 1880)

Two little kittens, one stormy night,
Began to quarrel, and then to fight;
One had a mouse, the other had none,
And that's the way the quarrel begun.

"I'll have that mouse," sad the biggest cat;
"You'll have that mouse? We'll see about that!"
"I will have that mouse," said the eldest son;
"You shan't have the mouse," said the little one.

I told you before 'twas a stormy night
When these two little kittens began to fight;
The old woman seized her sweeping broom,
And swept the two kittens right out of the room.

The ground was covered with frost and snow,
And the two little kittens had nowhere to go;
So they laid them down on the mat at the door,
While the old woman finished sweeping the floor.

Then they crept in, as quiet as mice,
All wet with the snow, and cold as ice,
For they found it was better, that stormy night,
To lie down and sleep than to quarrel and fight.

Where Go the Boats?

~Robert Louis Stevenson

Dark brown is the river,
Golden is the sand.
It flows along for ever,
With trees on either hand.

Green leaves a-floating,
Castles of the foam,
Boats of mine a-boating-
Where will all come home?

On goes the river,
And out past the mill,
Away down the valley,
Away down the hill.

Away down the river,
A hundred miles or more,
Other little children
Shall bring my boats ashore.

Winter Time

~Robert Louis Stevenson

Late lies the wintry sun a-bed,

A frosty, fiery sleepy-head;

Blinks but an hour or two; and then,

A blood-red orange, sets again.

Before the stars have left the skies,

At morning in the dark I rise;

And shivering in my nakedness,

By the cold candle, bathe and dress.

Close by the jolly fire I sit,

To warm my frozen bones a bit;

Or with a reindeer-sled, explore

The colder countries round the door.

When to go out, my nurse doth wrap

Me in my comforter and cap,

The cold wind burns my face, and blows

Its frosty pepper up my nose.

Black are my steps on silver sod;

Thick blows my frosty breath abroad;

And tree and house, and hill and lake,

Are frosted like a wedding-cake.

CLASSIC POEMS FOR CHILDREN

You Are Old, Father William

~Lewis Carroll

"You are old, Father William," the young man said,

"And your hair has become very white;

And yet you incessantly stand on your head-

Do you think, at your age age, it is right?"

"In my youth," Father William replied to his son,

"I feared it might injure the brain;

But, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,

Why, I do it again and again."

"You are old," said the youth, " as I mentioned before,

And have grown most uncommonly fat;

Yet you turned a back somersault in at the door-

Pray, what is the reason of that?"

"In my youth," said the sage, as he shook his grey locks,

"I kept all my limbs very supple

By the use of this ointment-one shilling the box-

Allow me to sell you a couple?"

"You are old," said the youth, " and your jaws are too weak

For anything tougher than suet;

Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the back-

Pray, how did you manage to do it?"

"In my youth," said his father, "I took to the law,

And argued each case with my wife;

And the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw,

Has lasted the rest of my life."

"You are old," said the youth, "one would hardly suppose

That your eye was steady as ever;

Yet, you balanced an eel on the end of your nose-

What made you so awfully clever?"

"I have answered three questions, and that is enough,"

Said his father. "Don't give yourself airs!

Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff?

Be off, or I'll kick you downstairs!"

Caterpillar

Brown and furry

Caterpillar in a hurry,

Take your walk

To the shady leaf, or stalk,

Or what not,

Which may be the chosen spot.

No toad spy you,

Hovering bird of prey pass by you;

Spin and die,

To live again a butterfly.

Now the Day is Over

Now the Day is Over

~Sabine Baring-Gould

Now the day is over,

Night is drawing nigh,

Shadows of the evening

Steal across the sky.

Now the darkness gathers,

Stars began to peep,

Birds and beasts and flowers

Soon will be asleep.

Jesus, give the weary

Calm and sweet repose;

With thy tenderest blessing

May our eyelids close.

Grant to little children

Visions bright of thee;

Guard the sailors tossing

On the deep blue sea.

Comfort every sufferer

Watching late in pain;

Those who plan some evil

From their sin restrain.

Through the long night-watches

May thine angels spread

Their white wings above me,

Watching round my bed.

When the morning wakens,

Then may I arise

Pure and fresh and sinless

In thy holy eyes.

Glory to the Father,

Glory to the Son,

And to thee, blest Spirit,

Whilst all ages run.

Once in Royal David's City

Once in Royal David's City

~Cecil Frances Alexander

Once in royal David's city

Stood in a lowly cattle shed,

Where a mother laid her baby

In a manger for his bed:

Mary was that mother mild,

Jesus Christ her little child.

He came down to earth from heaven,

Who is God and Lord of all,

And his shelter was a stable,

And his cradle was a stall;

With the poor, and mean, and lowly,

Lived on earth our Saviour holy.

And through all his wondrous childhood,

He would honour and obey,

Love, and watch the lowly maiden

In whose gentle arms he lay:

Christian children all must be

Mild, obedient, good as he.

For he is our childhood's pattern,

Day by day like us he grew,

He was little, weak, and helpless,

Tears and smiles like us he knew,

And he feeleth for our sadness,

And he shareth in our gladness.

And our eyes at last shall see him,

Through his own redeeming love,

For that child so dear and gentle

Is our Lord in heaven above;

And he leads his children on

To the place where he is gone.

Not in that poor lowly stable,

With the oxen standing by,

We shall see him; but in heaven,

See at God's right hand on high;

When like stars his children crowned,

All in white shall wait around.

The Cow

The Cow

~Robert Louis Stevenson

The friendly cow, all red and white,

I love with all my heart:

She gives me cream with all her might,

To eat with apple tart.

She wanders lowing here and there,

And yet she cannot stray,

All in the pleasant open air,

The pleasant light of day;

And blown by all the winds that pass

And wet with all the showers,

She walks among the meadow grass

And eats the meadow flowers.

Covetousness

CLASSIC POEMS FOR CHILDREN

~Peter Idley

Covetousness hath never end,

And where is no end, is no rest;

Where is no rest, peace doth wend;

Where is no peace, God is a guest;

For God Himself made His nest

Where peace made his bower,

And there He dwelleth, our Saviour.

The Land of Counterpane

CLASSIC POEMS FOR CHILDREN

~Robert Louis Stevenson

When I was sick and lay a-bed,

I had two pillows at my head,

And all my toys beside me lay

To keep me happy all the day.

And sometimes for an hour or so

I watched my leaden soldiers go,

With different uniforms and drills,

Among the bedclothes, through the hills;

And sometimes sent my ships in fleets

All up and down among the sheets;

Or brought my trees and houses out,

And planted cities all about.

I was the giant great and still

That sits upon the pillow-hill,

And sees before him, dale and plain,

The pleasant land of counterpane.

Answer to a Child's Question

~Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Do you ask what the birds say? The sparrow, the dove,

The linner and thrush say, "I love and I love!"

In the winter they're silent - the wind is so strong;

What is says, I don't know, but it sings a loud song.

But green leaves, and blossoms, and sunny warm weather,

And singing, and loving - all come back together.

But the lark is so brimful of gladness and love,

The green fields below him, the blue sky above,
That he sings, and he sings; and for ever sings he-
"I love my Love, and my Love loves me!"

A Child's Evening Prayer

Ere on my bed my limbs I lay,

God grant me grace my prayers to say:

O God! preserve my mother dear

In strength and health for many a year;

And, O! preserve my father too,

And may I pay him reverence due;

And may I my best thoughts employ

To be my parents' hope and joy;

And O! preserve my brothers both

From evil doings and from sloth,

And may we always love each other

Our friends, our father, and our mother:

And still, O Lord, to me impart

An innocent and grateful heart,

That after my great sleep I may

Awake to thy eternal day! Amen

Caterpillar

Brown and furry

Caterpillar in a hurry,

Take your walk

To the shady leaf, or stalk,

Or what not,

Which may be the chosen spot.

No toad spy you,

Hovering bird of prey pass by you;

Spin and die,

To live again a butterfly.

CLASSIC POEMS FOR CHILDREN

The Canary

Mary had a little bird,

With feathers bright and yellow,

Slender legs-upon my word,

He was a pretty fellow!

Sweetest notes he always sung,

Which much delighted Mary;

Often where his cage was hung,

She sat to hear Canary.

Crumbs of bread and dainty seeds

She carried to him daily,

Seeking for the early weeds,

She decked his palace gaily.

This, my little readers, learn,

And ever practice duly;

Songs and smiles of love return

To friends who love you truly.

Two Little Kittens

Where Go the Boats?

Winter Time

CLASSIC POEMS FOR CHILDREN

Caterpillar

Now the Day is Over

Once in Royal David's City

The Cow

Covetousness

The Land of Counterpane

Answer to a Child's Question

A Child's Evening Prayer

Caterpillar

The Canary

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