illustrations | Clattery MacHinery on Poetry

December 22, 2007

A Gaping-Wide-Mouth Waddling Frog, illustrated by Walter Crane

Filed under: animal poetry, art, children's poetry, children's verse, illustrations, illustrators, light verse, poems, poetry, poetry for children, Walter Crane — Clattery MacHinery @ 2:28 am

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illustrated by Walter Crane (1845-1915)

from The Buckle My Shoe Picture Book (1910)

(see The Flip Book version at Internet Archive)

A Gaping-Wide-Mouth Waddling Frog

A gaping-wide-mouth-waddling frog,
Two puddings’ ends would choke a dog,
Or a gaping-wide-mouth-waddling frog.

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Three monkeys tied to a log,
Two puddings’ ends, would choke a dog,
Or a gaping, wide-mouthed, waddling frog.

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Four puppies with our dog Ball,
Who daily for their breakfast call.
Three monkeys tied to a log.
Two puddings’ ends, would choke a dog,
Or a gaping, wide-mouthed, waddling frog.

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Five beetles against the wall,
Close to an old woman’s apple-stall.
Four puppies with our dog Ball,
Who daily for their breakfast call.
Three monkeys tied to a log.
Two puddings’ ends, would choke a dog,
Or a gaping, wide-mouthed, waddling frog.

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Six Joiners in Joiners’ Hall,
Working with their tools and all.
Five beetles against the wall,
Close to an old woman’s apple-stall.
Four puppies with our dog Ball,
Who daily for their breakfast call.
Three monkeys tied to a log.
Two puddings’ ends, would choke a dog,
Or a gaping, wide-mouthed, waddling frog.

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Seven lobsters in a dish,
As fresh as any heart could wish.
Six joiners in Joiners’ Hall,
Working with their tools and all.
Five beetles against the wall,
Close to an old woman’s apple-stall.
Four puppies with our dog Ball,
Who daily for their breakfast call.
Three monkeys tied to a log.
Two puddings’ ends, would choke a dog,
Or a gaping, wide-mouthed, waddling frog.

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Eight peacocks in the air,
I wonder how they all got there?
You don’t know, and I don’t care.
Seven lobsters in a dish, as fresh as any heart could wish.
Six joiners in Joiners’ Hall, working with their tools and all.
Five beetles against the wall, close to an old woman’s apple-stall.
Four puppies with our dog Ball, who daily for their breakfast call.
Three monkeys tied to a log.
Two puddings’ ends, would choke a dog,
Or a gaping, wide-mouthed, waddling frog.

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Nine ships sailing on the main,
Some bound for France, and some for Spain;
I wish them all safe back again.
Eight peacocks in the air,
I wonder how they all got there?
You don’t know, and I don’t care.
Seven lobsters in a dish,
As fresh as any heart could wish.
Six joiners in Joiners’ Hall,
Working with their tools and all.
Five beetles against the wall,
Close to an old woman’s apple-stall.
Four puppies with our dog Ball,
Who daily for their breakfast call.
Three monkeys tied to a log.
Two puddings’ ends, would choke a dog,
Or a gaping, wide-mouthed, waddling frog.

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November 11, 2007

A Selection of Kitten Verse by Oliver Herford

Filed under: 11th century poetry, 11th century poets, 12th century poetry, 12th century poets, 19th century poets, 20th century poetry, 20th century poets, American poets, animal poetry, art, bedtime poetry, cats, children's poetry, Edward Fitzgerald, English poets, European poets, illustrations, illustrators, kittens, light verse, Middle East poets, Middle Eastern poets, mystic poetry, mystics, Oliver Herford, Omar Khayam, Omar Khayyám, Persian poetry, poems, poetry, poets, religious poetry, rhymes, Rubaiyat, Rubaiyyat — Clattery MacHinery @ 3:49 pm

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Oliver Herford was born in Sheffield, England in 1863 and moved with his family to Chicago, Illinois when he was twelve, then onto Boston seven years later. After schooling back in England and then in Ohio, he moved to New York City with his wife Margaret Regan, where he became the writer, illustrator, and poet, known as the American Oscar Wilde.

Below is a selection of his kitten poems, accompanied by his illustrations for them. They are selected from The Kitten’s Garden of Verses (1911) and The Rubaiyat of a Persian Kitten (1904). Each light “Rubayait” kitten verse is accompanied by Edward Fitzgerald‘s English translation of Omar Khayyám‘s Rubayait.

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Foreign Kittens

Kittens large and Kittens small,
Prowling on the Back Yard Wall,
Though your fur be rough and few,
I should like to play with you.
Though you roam the dangerous street,
And have curious things to eat,
Though you sleep in barn or loft,
With no cushions warm and soft,
Though you have to stay out-doors
When it’s cold or when it pours,
Though your fur is all askew–
How I’d like to play with you!

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In Darkest Africa

At evening when the lamp is lit,
The tired Human People sit
And doze, or turn with solemn looks
The speckled pages of their books.

Then I, the Dangerous Kitten, prowl
And in the Shadows softly growl,
And roam about the farthest floor
Where Kitten never trod before.

And, crouching in the jungle damp,
I watch the Human Hunter’s camp,
Ready to spring with fearful roar
As soon as I shall hear them snore.

And then with stealthy tread I crawl
Into the dark and trackless hall,
Where ‘neath the Hat-tree’s shadows deep
Umbrellas fold their wings and sleep.

A cuckoo calls—and to their dens
The People climb like frightened hens,
And I’m alone—and no one cares
In Darkest Africa—down stairs.

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I sometimes think the Pussy-Willows grey
Are Angel Kittens who have lost their way,
And every Bulrush on the river bank
A Cat-Tail from some lovely Cat astray.