Poetry Corner

[dolorous_ett]

Gacked from just about everyone on my f-list. As regular visitors to my journal know, I'm always the last one to do a meme.

If you see this, post your favourite poem in your journal.

I'm not going to post all my favourites, that would take too long. Instead, I'm going to treat you to a poem my Mum used to tell me when I was small, until I got it off by heart. One or two of my friends are of the opinion that this poem warped my fragile little mind... and perhaps it did, but I still like it.

Neither of us know who wrote it. If you know, please drop me a line and tell me who it was.

I give you the tale of Henry, who was eaten by a lion. And serve him right!

O do you know why Henry sleeps,
And why his mourning mother weeps,
And why his weeping mother mourns?
He was unkind to unicorns.

No unicorn with Henry's leave
Could dance upon the lawn at eve,
Or gore the gardener's boy in spring,
Or do the very slightest thing;

No unicorn could safely roar,
Or dash its nose against the door,
Or sit in peace upon the mat
To eat the dog and drink the cat;

Henry would never in the least
Encourage the heraldic beast:
When there were unicorns about,
He went and let the lion out!

The lion, leaping from its chain
And glaring through its tangled mane
Would stand on end, and bark, and bound,
And bite what unicorns it found.

And if the lion bit a lot,
Was Henry sorry? He was not!
What did his jumps betoken? Joy!
He was a bloody-minded boy.

But lo! the unicorn is fleet
And spurns the earth with all its feet!
The lion had to snap and snatch
At tips of tails it couldn't catch.

Returning home in temper bad,
It met the sanguinary lad,
And grasping Henry in its claws,
It placed his legs between its jaws.

"Down, lion, down!" cried Henry, "cease!
My legs immediately release!"
His formidable feline pet
Made no reply, but only ate.

The last words that were ever said
By Henry's disappearing head
In accents of indignant scorn
Were: "I am not a unicorn!"

So now you now why Henry sleeps
And why his mourning mother weeps
And also why she weeps and mourns -
And so be kind to unicorns!

Enjoy!

Comments

[bufo-viridis.livejournal.com]

It's shocking, the doggerels that clutter it up - and the stuff I forget...
Don't remind me. I can type out most of the "Alice in Wonderland" poems right here, straight from memory (albeit in translation), but can't remember for shit what is planned for tomorrow's lunch.
Or what I am to do in the city, where I plan to go. :(