It's night before it's afternoon.
December is here before it's June.
My goodness how the time has flewn
How did it get so late so soon?
(Dr. Seuss)
'What Babe?'
'The Babe with the power.'
'What power?'
'The power of voodoo.'
'Who do?'
'You do.'
'Do what?'
'Remind me of the Babe.'
Labyrinth
The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-geen boat:
They took some honey, and plenty of money
Wrapped in a five pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
'O lovely Pussy, O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are!
Pussy said to the Owl, 'You elegant fowl,
How charmingly sweet you sing!
Oh! Let us be married; too long we have tarried:
But what shall we do for a ring?'
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-tree grows;
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood,
With a ring at the end of his nose.
'Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?' Said the Piggy, 'I will.'
So they took it away and were married next day
By the turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon.
(EDWARD LEAR)
Weep no more but pity me,
Fleet persistent shadow cast
By your lameness, caught at last,
Helplessly in love with you,
Elegance, art, fascination,
Facinated by
Drab mortality;
Spare me a humiliation,
To your faults be true:
I can sing as you reply
... I
Wish for nothing least you mar
The perfection in these eyes
Whose entire devotion lies
At the mercy of your will;
Tempt not your sworn comrade, - only
As I am can I
Love you as you are -
For my company be lonely
For my health be ill.
I will sing if you will cry
... I
Never hope to say farewell,
For our lethargy is such
Heaven's kindness cannot touch
Nor earth's frankly brutal drum;
This was long ago decided,
Both of us know why,
Can alas foretell,
When our falsehoods are divided,
What shall we become,
One evaporating sigh
... I
(W.H. AUDEN)
The eldest Oyster winked his eye,
And shook his heavy head -
Meaning to say he did not choose
To leave the oyster-bed.
But four young Oysters hurried up,
All eager for the treat:
Their coats were brushed, their faces washed,
Their shoes were clean and neat -
And this was odd, because, you know,
They hadn't any feet.
Four other Oysters followed them,
And yet another four;
And thick and fast they came at last,
And more, and more, and more -
All hopping through the frothy waves,
And scrambling to the shore.
The Walrus and the Carpenter
Walked on a mile or so,
And then they rested on a rock
Conveniently low:
And all the little Oysters stood
And waited in a row.
'The time has come,' the Walrus said,
'To talk of many things:
Of shoes - and ships - and sealing wax -
Of cabbages - and kings -
And why the sea is boiling hot -
And whether pigs have wings.'
But wait a bit,' the Oysters cried,
'Before we have our chat;
For some of us are out of breath,
And all of us are fat!'
'No hurry!' said the Carpenter.
They thanked him much for that.
Shining with all his might;
He did his very best to make
The billows smooth and bright -
And this was odd, because it was
The middle of the night.
The moon was shining sulkily,
Because she thought the sun
Had got no business to be there
After the day was done -
'It's very rude of him,' she said
'To come and spoil the fun!'
The sea was wet as wet could be,
The sands were dry as dry.
You could not see a cloud because
No cloud was in the sky.
No birds were flying overhead -
There were no birds to fly.
The Walrus and the Carpenter
Were walking close at hand,
They wept like anything to see
Such quantities of sand:
'If this were only cleared away,'
They said, 'It would be grand.'
'If seven maids with seven mops
Swept it for half a year,
Do you suppose,' the Walrus said,
'They could get it clear?'
'I doubt it,' said the Carpenter,
And shed a bitter tear.
'O Oysters, come and walk with us!'
The Walrus did beseech.
'A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk,
Along the briny beach:
We cannot do with more than four,
To give a hand to each.'
'It was so kind of you to come!
And you are very nice!'
The Carpenter said nothing, but
'Cut us another slice:
I wish you were quite not so deaf -
I've had to ask you twice!'
'It seems a shame,' the Walrus said,
'To play them such a trick.
After we've brought them out so far,
And made them trot so quick!'
But the Carpenter said nothing but
'The butter's spread too thick!'
'Is what we chiefly need:
Pepper and vinegar besides
Are very good indeed -
And if you're ready, Oysters dear,
We can begin to feed.'
'But not on us!' the Oysters cried,
Turning a little blue.
'After such kindness, that would be
A dismal thing to do!'
'The night is fine,' the Walrus said,
'Do you admire the view?'
'
'I deeply sympathise.'
With sobs and tears he sorted out
Those of the largest size.
Holding his pocket-handkerchief
Before his streaming eyes.
'O Oysters,' said the Carpenter
'You've had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again?'
But answer came there none -
And this was scarcely odd, because
They'd eaten every one.'
LEWIS CARROLL
Illustration from THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
