[bookshare-discuss] OT: Hallowe'en poem
- From: Cindy <popularplace@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2005 17:12:16 -0700 (PDT)
I was wrong about the author--it was James Whitcomb
Riley.
But here is a lovely , somewhat but not-too-scary poem
that our 4th-grade teacher read to us one Hallowe'en.
It should be read aloud with proper feeling to
children not young enough to be scared.
When I googled, in addition to the first site that
popped up, which was this poem by itself, there was
one that told the true story of JWRiley and Annie and
how she came to live with them. THe URL for that is
http://www.jameswhitcombriley.com/litorphannie.htm
It tells a lot about life in Indiana just before the
Civil War, on a personal, one-family basis, and if I
had children I'd read that to them, too--or tell them,
if I were able, which would be even better. It's
long, so I'm only giving the URL.
But here's the poem I hope you and your children of
all ages enjoy it as much as I always do.
Cindy
P.S. I haven't checked the collection, so I don't know
if poetry books by RIley, Longfellow and/or Eugene
Field are in the collection, but I think they'r be
wonderful additions, and I wouldn't mind validating
them if no one else wanted to. I do know TS Eliot's
poetry was requested, but I haven't checked to see if
it ever got in.
Cindy
LITTLE ORPHANT ANNIE
by: James Whitcomb Riley (1849-1916)
INSCRIBED WITH ALL FAITH AND AFFECTION
To all the little children: -- The happy ones; and sad
ones;
The sober and the silent ones; the boisterous and glad
ones;
The good ones -- Yes, the good ones, too; and all the
lovely bad ones.
ITTLE Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay,
An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs
away,
An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the
hearth, an' sweep,
An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her
board-an'-keep;
An' all us other childern, when the supper-things is
done,
We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun
A-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about,
An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!
Wunst they wuz a little boy wouldn't say his
prayers,--
An' when he went to bed at night, away up-stairs,
His Mammy heerd him holler, an' his Daddy heerd him
bawl,
An' when they turn't the kivvers down, he wuzn't there
at all!
An' they seeked him in the rafter-room, an'
cubby-hole, an' press,
An' seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an' ever'-wheres,
I guess;
But all they ever found wuz thist his pants an'
roundabout:--
An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!
An' one time a little girl 'ud allus laugh an' grin,
An' make fun of ever' one, an' all her blood-an'-kin;
An' wunst, when they was "company," an' ole folks wuz
there,
She mocked 'em an' shocked 'em, an' said she didn't
care!
An' thist as she kicked her heels, an' turn't to run
an' hide,
They wuz two great big Black Things a-standin' by her
side,
An' they snatched her through the ceilin' 'fore she
knowed what she's about!
An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!
An' little Orphant Annie says, when the blaze is blue,
An' the lamp-wick sputters, an' the wind goes woo-oo!
An' you hear the crickets quit, an' the moon is gray,
An' the lightnin'-bugs in dew is all squenched away,--
You better mind yer parunts, an' yer teachurs fond an'
dear,
An' churish them 'at loves you, an' dry the orphant's
tear,
An' he'p the pore an' needy ones 'at clusters all
about,
Er the Gobble-uns 'll git you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!
"Little Orphant Annie" is reprinted from Complete
Works. James Whitcomb Riley. Indianapolis:
Bobbs-Merrill, 1916.
MORE POEMS BY JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY
__________________________________
Yahoo! Music Unlimited
Access over 1 million songs. Try it free.
http://music.yahoo.com/unlimited/
To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank Email to
bookshare-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the Subject line. To get a list of
available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line.
Other related posts:
- » [bookshare-discuss] OT: Hallowe'en poem
