 | A Flight of Fancies |  |
10
UNCLE
I'm sure no children ever had
An Uncle half so queer as ours.
He doesn't shoot, he doesn't fish,
He doesn't even gather flowers.
We sometimes run like mad and scream
Because a wasp is on his nose;
But Uncle talks to it, and seems
Quite disappointed when it goes.
An Uncle half so queer as ours.
He doesn't shoot, he doesn't fish,
He doesn't even gather flowers.
We sometimes run like mad and scream
Because a wasp is on his nose;
But Uncle talks to it, and seems
Quite disappointed when it goes.
One day, while we were strolling home
Along the fieldpath near the dell,
He took his cap off to a cow
And asked if she and hers were well.
She looked so cross that Uncle said,
“Perhaps this lady isn't used
To greetings from a gentleman
To whom she's not been introduced.”
Along the fieldpath near the dell,
He took his cap off to a cow
And asked if she and hers were well.
She looked so cross that Uncle said,
“Perhaps this lady isn't used
To greetings from a gentleman
To whom she's not been introduced.”
On finding brambles with a load
Of berries in a sunny place,
He bared his head and spoke for us
A new and lovely kind of Grace:
“For all the fruit that thou can'st give
To birds, to children, and to men
We thank Thy Maker and our own
In terms of thoughtful love. Amen.”
Of berries in a sunny place,
He bared his head and spoke for us
A new and lovely kind of Grace:
“For all the fruit that thou can'st give
To birds, to children, and to men
11
In terms of thoughtful love. Amen.”
Last night we sat upon a rug
And whispered till a blackbird flew
Across the lawn to find a twig
Inside a damson, out of view.
For twenty minutes there he sang
Of faith and love at eventide;
And when he finished, Uncle rose,
Arranged his hair, and thus replied:
And whispered till a blackbird flew
Across the lawn to find a twig
Inside a damson, out of view.
For twenty minutes there he sang
Of faith and love at eventide;
And when he finished, Uncle rose,
Arranged his hair, and thus replied:
“Allow me, in my humble way,
To thank you, Sir, for such a treat
As even you, from out a bill
Of genius, hardly could repeat.
The passage, just before the end,
That made me rank you as the birds'
Dark-feathered Shakespeare, was a theme
Beyond the skill of human words.
To thank you, Sir, for such a treat
As even you, from out a bill
Of genius, hardly could repeat.
The passage, just before the end,
That made me rank you as the birds'
Dark-feathered Shakespeare, was a theme
Beyond the skill of human words.
“Permit me now to introduce
Albreda, Dorothy, and Meg,
Who, being honest, never wish,
As robber maids, to steal an egg.
Through me they thank the golden bill
That sang a history fair and bright
Within the damson. Please accept
Our sterling gratitude. Goodnight!”
Albreda, Dorothy, and Meg,
Who, being honest, never wish,
As robber maids, to steal an egg.
Through me they thank the golden bill
That sang a history fair and bright
Within the damson. Please accept
Our sterling gratitude. Goodnight!”
He said to me on Thursday, when
I told him I was Twelve, “My dear,
What present will you give to me
For Uncling hard throughout the year?
As household Tiger, I received
Acidulated drops, I know;
But how about my little bill
As Crocodile and Buffalo?”
I told him I was Twelve, “My dear,
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For Uncling hard throughout the year?
As household Tiger, I received
Acidulated drops, I know;
But how about my little bill
As Crocodile and Buffalo?”
I'm sure no children ever had
An Uncle half so strange as ours.
He doesn't shoot, he doesn't fish,
He doesn't even gather flowers.
But though he takes our breath away
At times by being odd and queer
And difficult to understand,
He's dearer far than only dear!
An Uncle half so strange as ours.
He doesn't shoot, he doesn't fish,
He doesn't even gather flowers.
But though he takes our breath away
At times by being odd and queer
And difficult to understand,
He's dearer far than only dear!
| A Flight of Fancies | |