We Turn Heads

Saturday, Emma and I rose early to go to the farmer's market in Houston.  The good stuff sells out quickly, so we wanted to get there by 8.  The weather was beautiful, and the forecast said the temperature would get up into the seventies.  Somehow we both felt festive, and independently of each other, we decided to wear hats.

We got lots of comments at the market.

"You look like Spring/Easter."

"The hat ladies.  Love it!"

"You look so pretty!"

We felt like we cheered up a lot of people that morning.

What we didn't find at the market, we got at a nearby Whole Foods.  I noticed there that people didn't give a second glance to the guy with the really scary long black hair or the one with the freaky tattoo all over his neck, but they stared at us.  At the checkout, the girl looked us over and asked cautiously, "Uh, so you got somewhere special to go today?"

"No," I answered.

"You're not from Houston, are you?" she asked, leaning a little closer as if looking for clues to our mysterious origin.

At this, I just about burst out laughing.  There were people within a few feet of her who looked like they might be from another planet, but Emma and I filled her with insatiable curiosity.

This wasn't the first time that we've gotten this kind of reaction.  On her recent (18th) birthday, Emma and four traditional Catholic girlfriends went shopping at Kroger to get ingredients for pizza.  They weren't wearing hats or anything particularly special, just skirts and blouses.  One person stopped them and asked them where they were from.  The girls gave their respective hometowns.  "You're from AMERICA!" the person exclaimed, astounded.

Wow!  Even I was surprised by that one.

During that same Kroger shopping excursion, a young woman approached the girls and, addressing each girl in turn, said, "I like your skirt and your skirt and your skirt and your skirt.  I like all y'alls' skirts!"  Then she walked away happily and announced exuberantly, "PENTECOSTALS ROCK!"

From Full Skirts to Disposing of Chicken Carcasses

Gathering eggs in a full skirt pegs out my joy meter.

It's definitely on my top 10 list of Simple Pleasures, neck in neck with flopping down in the pasture on a sunny day and having a cat search you out and rub all over your face.  Oh, dear.  I must not forget the delightful endeavor of chasing chickens back in their pen while swooshing my skirt from side to side with both hands.  I don't know what it is about gathering up one's skirt and doing something purposeful that just pleasures me no end, but it does.  Then there's dumping a potful of used-up chicken stew bones in our two Black Labs' bowl and hearing them crunch like mad while my chimes float notes of delicate beauty upon the air.  Yes, I know you're not supposed to feed dogs chicken bones.  However, I've seen our Cowboy and Spats kill and eat chickens feathers, innards, and bones, so I don't worry my pretty little head about that.  Maybe that rule is intended for Chihuahuas.  It certainly doesn't apply to our Labs.  They inhale the bones, masticate like a commercial food disposer, and swallow. They don't give a fig about pausing to savor the nuances of flavor.  Terribly businesslike in their attitude toward food, they must be the capitalists of dogdom.

From Her Valentine

Receipt for a Happy Childhood: A Lovely List of Children's Poems

Last month, an anonymous commenter asked if I would provide her a list of the poems included in Day and Night and Other Dreams, a book of children's poetry that I wrote about here.  She explained that the book was one of her childhood favorites, and she was having a hard time finding a copy.  Although I am late responding, I am glad to provide the titles of the poems.  Better yet, this little book has meant so much to me and Emma, I am also going to include the poems themselves.  Here is a link to a CD Baby page where you can purchase the mp3 recordings.    I hope you enjoy this, and that you find someone wonder-full with whom to share it.  Most of all, I hope that renewed interest in this book and accompanying music tape will encourage its some publisher to make it available again along with a CD of the music.

I apologize for all the formatting errors.  I don't have the patience just now to fix them.


Day and Night and Other Dreams: Table of Contents

Girls and Boys Come Out to Play. . .Anonymous
Spring. . .William Blake
Somewhere. . .Walter de la Mare
Where Go the Boats?. . .Robert Louis Stevenson
My Shadow. . .Robert Louis Stevenson
Little White Lily. . .George MacDonald
General Store. . .Rachel Field
The Peaceable Kingdom. . .Traditional Shaker
The Throstle. . .Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Clock-a-Clay. . .John Clare
I've Been Roaming. . .George Darley
A Swing Song. . .William Allingham
Evening Song. . .Fannie Stearns Davis
Lady Moon. . .Lord Houghton
The Land of Nod. . .Robert Louis Stevenson
Last Song. . .James Guthrie

Girls and Boys Come Out to Play
Anonymous


Girls and boys come out to play,
The moon doth shine as bright as day,
Leave your supper, and leave your sleep,
And come with your playfellows into the street;
Come with a whoop, or come with a call,
Come with a goodwill, or not at all.
Up the ladder and down the wall,
A halfpenny loaf will serve us all.
You find milk, and I'll find flour,
And we'll have a pudding in half an hour!


Spring
William Blake

Sound the flute!

Now it’s mute.
Birds delight
Day and Night;
Nightingale
In the dale,
Lark in Sky,
Merrily, merrily, to welcome in the Year.


Little boy
Full of joy,
Little girl
Sweet and Small;
Cock does crow,
So do you;
Merry voice,
Infant noise,
Merrily, merrily to welcome in the Year.


Little Lamb
Here I am;
Come and lick
My white neck;
Let me pull
Your soft Wool.
Let me kiss
Your soft Face,
Merrily, merrily to welcome in the Year.


Somewhere

Walter de la Mare

Could you tell me the way to Somewhere—
Somewhere, Somewhere,
I have heard of a place called Somewhere—
But know not where it can be.
It makes no difference,
Whether or not
I go in dreams
Or trudge on foot:
Would you tell me the way to Somewhere,
The Somewhere meant for me.


There’s a little old house in Somewhere—
Somewhere, Somewhere,
A queer little place with a Cat and a Mouse—
Just room enough for three.
A kitchen, a larder,
A bin for bread,
A string of candles,
Or stars instead,
A table, a chair,
And a four-post bed—
There’s room for us all in Somewhere,
For the Cat and the Mouse and Me.


I want to be off to Somewhere,
To far, lone, lovely Somewhere,
No matter where Somewhere be.
It makes no difference
Whether or not
I go in dreams
Or trudge on foot,
Or this time to-morrow
How far I’ve got,
Summer or Winter,
Cold, or hot,
Where, or When,
Or Why, or What—
Please, tell me the way to Somewhere—
Somewhere, Somewhere;
Somewhere, Somewhere, Somewhere, Somewhere—
The Somewhere meant for me! 


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.


My Shadow
Robert Louis Stevenson

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,

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 see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.

The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow—

Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;

For he sometimes shoots up taller like an India-rubber ball,

And he sometimes gets so little that there's none of him at all.

He hasn't got a notion of how children ought to play,

And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.

He stays so close beside me, he's a coward you can see;

I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!

One morning, very early, before the sun was up,

I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;

But my lazy little shadow, like an errant sleepy-head,

Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.

Little White Lily

George MacDonald

Little white Lily
Sat by a stone,
Drooping and Waiting
Till the sun shone.
Little White Lily
Sunshine has fed;
Little White Lily
Is lifting her head.


Little White Lily
Said, "It is good;
Little White Lily's
Clothing and food."
Little White Lily
Dressed like a bride!
Shining with whiteness,
And crown'd beside!


Little White Lily
Droopeth with pain,
Waiting and waiting
For the wet rain.
Little White Lily
Holdeth her cup;
Rain is fast falling
And filling it up.


Little White Lily
Said, "Good again,
When I am thirsty
To have nice rain;
Now I am stronger,
Now I am cool;
Heat cannot burn me,
My veins are so full."


Little White Lily
Smells very sweet;
On her head sunshine,
Rain at her feet.
Thanks to the sunshine,
Thanks to the rain!
Little White Lily
Is happy again!


General Store
Rachel Field


Someday I'm going to have a store
With tinkly bells hung over the door,
With real glass cases and counters wide
And drawers all spilly with things inside.
There'll be a little of everything:
Bolts of calico, balls of string;
Jars of peppermint, tins of tea,
Potatoes and kettles and crockery;


Seeds in packets, scissors bright;
Kegs of sugar, brown and white;
Sarsaparilla for picnic lunches;
Bananas and rubber boots in bunches.
I'll fix the window and dust each shelf,
And take the money in all myself.
It will be my store and I will say:
"What can I do for you today?"


The Peaceable Kingdom
Traditional Shaker abecedarious


Alligator, Beetle, Porcupine, Whale,
Bobolink, Panther, Dragonfly, Snail,
Crocodile, Monkey, Buffalo, Hare,
Dromedary, Leopard, Mud Turtle, Bear,
Elephant, Badger, Pelican, Ox,
Flying Fish, Reindeer, Anaconda, Fox,
Guinea Pig, Dolphin, Antelope, Goose,
Hummingbird, Weasel, Pickerel, Moose.
Ibex, Rhinoceros, Owl, Kangaroo,
Jackal, Opossum, Toad, Cockatoo,
Kingfisher, Peacock, Anteater, Bat,
Lizard, Ichneumon, Honeybee, Rat.
Mockingbird, Camel, Grasshopper, Mouse,
Nightingale, Spider, Octopus, Grouse,
Ocelot, Pheasant, Wolverine, Auk,
Periwinkle, Ermine, Katydid, Hawk.
Quail, Hippopotamus, Armadillo, Moth,
Rattlesnake, Lion, Woodpecker, Sloth,
Salamander, Goldfinch, Angleworm, Dog,
Tiger, Flamingo, Scorpion, Frog.
Unicorn, Ostrich, Nautilus, Mole,
Viper, Gorilla, Basilisk, Sole,
Whippoorwill, Beaver, Centipede, Fawn,
Xanthos, Canary, Polliwog, Swan.
Yellowhammer, Eagle, Hyena, Lark,
Zebra, Chameleon, Butterfly, Shark.


The Throstle
Alfred, Lord Tennyson


"Summer is coming, summer is coming,
I know it, I know it, I know it.
Light again, leaf again, life again, love again,"
Yes, my wild little Poet.


Sing the new year in under the blue.
Last year you sang it so gladly.
"New, new, new, new!" Is it then so new
That you should carol so madly?


"Love again, song again, nest again, young again,"
Never a prophet so crazy!"
And hardly a daisy as yet, little friend,
See there is hardly a daisy.


"Here again, here, here, here, happy year!"
O warble unchidden unbidden!
Summer is coming, is coming, my dear.
And all the winters are hidden.


Clock-a-Clay
John Clare


In the cowslip pips I lie
Hidden from the buzzing fly,
While green grass beneath me lies
Pearled wi' dew like fishes' eyes.
Here I lie, a clock-a-clay,
Waiting for the time o' day.


While grassy forests quake surprise,
And the wild wind sobs and sighs,
My gold home rocks as like to fall
On its pillar green and tall;
When the parting rain drives by
Clock-a-clay keeps warm and dry.


Day by day and night by night
All the week I hide from sight.
In the cowslips pips I lie,
In rain and dew still warm and dry.
Day and night, and night and day,
Red, black-spotted clock-a-clay.


My home it shakes in wind and showers,
Pale green pillar topped wi' flowers,
Bending at the wild wind's breath
Till I touch the grass beneath.
Here I live, lone clock-a-clay,
Watching for the time of day.





I've Been Roaming

George Darley


I've been roaming, I've been roaming,
Where the meadow-dew is sweet,
And like a queen I'm coming
With its pearls upon my feet.

I've been roaming, I've been roaming,
O'er red rose and lily fair,
And like a sylph I'm coming
With its blossoms in my hair.

I've been roaming, I've been roaming,
Where the honeysuckle creeps,
And like a bee I'm coming
With its kisses on my lips.

I've been roaming, I've been roaming,
Over hill and over plain,
And like a bird I'm coming
To my bower back again.

Evening Song
Fannie Stearns Davis

Little Child, Good Child, go to sleep.
The tree-toads purr and the peepers peep
Under the apple-tree grass grows deep;
Little Child, Good Child, go to sleep!


Big star out in the orange west;
Orioles swing in their Gypsy nest;
Soft wind singing what you love best;
Rest till the sun-rise; rest, Child, rest!


Swift dreams swarm in a silver flight._
Hand in hand with the sleepy Night
Lie down soft with your eyelids tight._
Hush, Child, little Child!._Goodnight._

Lady Moon
Lord Houghton


"Lady Moon, Lady Moon, where are you roving?"
"Over the Sea."
"Lady Moon, Lady Moon, whom are you loving?"
"All that love me."
"Are you not tired with rolling, and never
Resting to sleep?
Why look so pale and so sad, as forever
Wishing to weep?"
"Ask me not this, little child, if you love me:
You are too bold;
I must obey my dear Father above me,
And do as I'm told."
"Lady Moon, Lady Moon, where are you roving?"
"Over the Sea."
"Lady Moon, Lady Moon, whom are you loving?"
"All that love me."


The Land of Nod
Robert Louis Stevenson


From breakfast on through all the day
At home among my friends I stay,
But every night I go abroad
Afar into the land of Nod.


All by myself I have to go,
With none to tell me what to do--
All alone beside the streams
And up the mountain-sides of dreams.


The strangest things are there for me
Both things to eat and things to see,
And many frightening sights abroad
Till morning in the land of Nod.


Try as I like to find the way,
I never can get back by day,
Nor can remember plain and clear
The curious music that I hear.


Last Song
James Guthrie


To the Sun
Who has shone
All day,
To the Moon
Who has gone
Awa,
To the milk-white,
Silk-white,
Lily-white Star
A fond goodnight
Wherever you are.