Some of the most wonderful poetry ever written, I read at the age of one. (Yes, I could read when I was one... my parents will tell that to anyone who will listen to more braggings about their first born... must have been quite a dissapointment when I didn't get into Cambridge). I think nursery rhymes are some of the best written works that very little credit is given to. The lovely imagery, the beautiful aliterations, the underlying political agenda (Baa baa black sheep is a classic!)... at the age of one I remembered being incredibly emotional over nursery rhymes. I always wanted to meet the fine lady upon a white horse at banbury cross with rings on her fingers and bells on her toes. I wanted a garden like Mary who was quite contrary. I was terrified of the crooked man who walked a crooked mile. And I always went to sleep thinking of Wynken, Blynken and Nod. I just came across a few of my favourites while I was thinking of Wynken, Blynken and Nod after boring myself to death with digital logic. Digital logic is SO unpoetic!

BAA, BAA, BLACK SHEEP
Baa, baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes, marry, have I,
Three bags full;

One for my master,
One for my dame,
But none for the little boy
Who cries in the lane.

HICKETY, PICKETY, MY BLACK HEN
Hickety, pickety, my black hen,
She lays eggs for gentlemen;
Gentlemen come every day
To see what my black hen doth lay.

BOBBY SHAFTOE
Bobby Shaftoe’s gone to sea,
With silver buckles on his knee:
He’ll come back and marry me,
Pretty Bobby Shaftoe!
Bobby Shaftoe’s fat and fair,
Combing down his yellow hair;
He’s my love for evermore,
Pretty Bobby Shaftoe.
**I always imagined that Bobby Shaftoe drowned at sea thus giving this a sad ending. I think I was quite a sadistic child**

COME OUT TO PLAY
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, come with a call,
Come with a good will or not at all.
Up the ladder and down the wall,
A half-penny roll will serve us all.
You find milk, and I’ll find flour,
And we’ll have a pudding in half an hour.

COME TO THE WINDOW
Come to the window,
My baby, with me,
And look at the stars
That shine on the sea!
There are two little stars
That play bo-peep
With two little fish
Far down in the deep;
And two little frogs
Cry "Neap, neap, neap";
I see a dear baby
That should be asleep.

CURLY-LOCKS
Curly-locks, Curly-locks, wilt thou be mine?
Thou shalt not wash the dishes, nor yet feed the swine;
But sit on a cushion, and sew a fine seam,
And feed upon strawberries, sugar, and cream.
**I could dream forever that someone would propose that to me**

HUMPTY DUMPTY
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;
All the King’s horses, and all the King’s men
Cannot put Humpty Dumpty together again.
**My dad once told me that Humpty Dumpty fell off the little ledge above the big drain out side my house. There was an oval piece of cardboard that was caught between some branches at the bottom of the drain, so I believed him... and went to pay my respects to poor Humpty Dumpty every evening**

HUSH-A-BYE
Hush-a-bye, baby, on the tree top!
When the wind blows the cradle will rock;
When the bough breaks the cradle will fall;
Down will come baby, bough, cradle and all.
**Nursery rhymes are sadistic... but I used to recite this one many times, hoping it'd end differently one day**

I HAD A LITTLE NUT TREE
I had a little nut tree,
Nothing would it bear,
But a silver nutmeg and a golden pear.
The King of Spain's daughter
Came to see me,
All because of my little nut tree.
I skipped over the water,
I danced over the sea,
And all the birds in the air couldn't catch me.

IF
If all the world were apple pie,
And all the sea were ink,
And all the trees were bread and cheese,
What should we have for drink?

LADYBIRD
Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home!
Your house is on fire, your children all gone,
All but one, and her name is Ann,
And she crept under the pudding pan
**I used to whisper to ladybirds to fly away home... just in case...**

LAVENDER BLUE
Lavender blue and rosemary green,
When I am king you shall be queen;
Call up my maids at four o'clock,
Some to the wheel and some to the rock;
Some to make hay and some to shear corn,
And you and I will keep the bed warm.
**cough cough! Wonder why...**

THE LION AND THE UNICORN
The Lion and the Unicorn were fighting for the crown,
The Lion beat the Unicorn all around the town.
Some gave them white bread, and some gave them brown,
Some gave them plum-cake, and sent them out of town.
**What a grand sight that must have been**

THE LITTLE GIRL WITH A CURL
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.
** I think my mum told me if I was naughty my hair would curl... hmm...**

LITTLE POLLY FLINDERS
Little Polly Flinders
Sat among the cinders
Warming her pretty little toes;
Her mother came and caught her,
Whipped her little daughter
For spoiling her nice new clothes.
** This one always reminds me of my mum...**

THE MAN IN THE WILDERNESS
The man in the wilderness
Asked me

How many strawberries
Grew in the sea.

I answered him
As I thought good,

As many as red herrings
Grew in the wood.

MARY, MARY, QUITE CONTRARY
Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
Silver bells and cockle-shells,
And pretty maids all of a row.

OLD WOMAN, OLD WOMAN
There was an old woman tossed in a basket.
Seventeen times as high as the moon;
But where she was going no mortal could tell,
For under her arm she carried a broom.

“Old woman, old woman, old woman,” said I,
“Whither, oh whither, oh whither so high?”
“To sweep the cobwebs from the sky;
And I’ll be with you by-and-by

RIDE A COCK-HORSE
Ride a cock-horse to Banbury Cross,
To see a fine lady upon a white horse.
Rings on her fingers, and bells on her toes,
She shall have music wherever she goes.

THE ROBIN
The north wind doth blow,
And we shall have snow,
And what will poor robin do then,
Poor thing ?

He’ll sit in a barn,
And keep himself warm,
And hide his head under his wing,
Poor thing!

RUB-A-DUB-DUB
Rub-a-dub-dub
Three men in a tub,
And how do you think they got there?
The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker,
They all jumped out of a rotten potato,
'Twas enough to make a man stare.

SIPPITY SUP
Sippity sup, sippity sup,
Bread and milk from a china cup.
Bread and milk from a bright silver spoon
Made of a piece of the bright silver moon.
Sippity sup, sippity sup,
Sippity, sippity sup

SIX LITTLE MICE
Six little mice sat down to spin;
Pussy passed by and she peeped in;
"What are you doing, my little men?"
"Weaving coats for gentlemen."
"Shall I come in and cut off your threads?"
"No, no, Mistress Pussy, you'd bite off our heads."
"Oh, no, I'll not; I'll help you to spin."
"That may be so, but you can't come in!"

THREE LITTLE KITTENS
Three little kittens,
They lost their mittens,
And they began to cry,
"Oh, mother dear, we sadly fear
Our mittens we have lost."

"What! Lost your mittens,
You silly kittens!
Then you shall have no pie.
Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow.
No, you shall have no pie."

The three little kittens,
They found their mittens,
And they began to cry,
"Oh, mother dear, see here, see here,
Our mittens we have found."

"Put on your mittens,
You happy kittens,
And you shall have some pie,
Purr-r, purr-r, purr-r,
Oh, let us have some pie."

The three little kittens
Put on their mittens,
And soon ate up the pie;
"Oh, mother dear, we greatly fear
Our mittens we have soiled."

"What! Soiled your mittens,
You silly kittens!"
Then they began to sigh,
"Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow."
Then they began to sigh.

The three little kittens,
They washed their mittens,
And hung them out to dry;
"Oh, mother dear , do you not hear
Our mittens we have washed?"

"What! Washed your mittens,
Then you're good kittens!
Now it's time for bed, bye-bye.
Purr-r, purr-r, purr-r,
It's time for bed, bye-bye."


**And last but not least... my all time favourite bedtime nursery rhyme...**

WINKEN, BLINKEN, AND NOD
Winken, Blinken, and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe,
Sailed off on a river of crystal light,
Into a sea of dew.

"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring fish
That live in the beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we!"
Said Winken,
Blinken,
And Nod.

The old moon laughed and sang a song,
As they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long,
Ruffled the waves of dew.
The little stars were the herring fish
That lived in the beautiful sea.
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish—
Never afeard are we";
So cried the stars to the fisherman three:
Winken,
Blinken,
And Nod.

All night long their nets they threw
To the stars in the twinkling foam—
Then down from the skies came a wooden shoe
Bringing the fishermen home;
T'was all so pretty a sail it seemed
As if it could not be,
And some folks thought t'was a dream they'd dreamed
Of sailing that beautiful sea—
But I shall name you the fisherman three:
Winken,
Blinken,
And Nod.

Winken and Blinken are two little eyes,
And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoes that sailed the skies
Is the wee one's trundle-bed.
So shut your eyes while your mother sings
Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
As you rock in the misty sea,
Where the old shoe rocked the fisherman three:
Winken,
Blinken,
And Nod.