NIGHT By William Blake part 2

When wolves and tigers howl for prey,
They pitying stand and weep,
Seeking to drive their thirst away
And keep them from the sheep.
But, if they rush dreadful,
The angels, most heedful,
Receive each mild spirit,
New worlds to inherit.

And there the lion's ruddy eyes
Shall flow with tears of gold:
And pitying the tender cries,
And walking round the fold:
Saying, "Wrath by His meekness,
And, by His health, sickness,
Are driven away
From our immortal day.

"And now beside thee, bleating lamb,
I can lie down and sleep,
Or think of Him who bore thy name,
Graze after thee, and weep.
For, wash'd in life's river,
My bright mane for ever
Shall shine like the gold
As I guard o'er the fold."

NIGHT By William Blake

The sun descending in the west,
The evening star does shine;
The birds are silent in their nest,
And I must seek for mine.
The moon, like a flower
In heaven's high bower,
With silent delight
Sits and smiles on the night.

Farewell, green fields and happy grove,
Where flocks have ta'en delight:
Where lambs have nibbled, silent move
The feet of angles bright;
Unseen they pour blessing
And joy without ceasing
On each bud and blossom,
On each sleeping bosom.

They look in every thoughtless nest
Where birds are cover'd warm;
They visit caves of every beast,
To keep them all from harm:
If they see any weeping
That should have been sleeping
They pour sleep on their head,
And sit down by their bed.

ORPHEUS WITH HIS LUTE By William Shakespeare

Orpheus with his lute made trees,
And the mountain tops that freeze,
Bow themselves when he did sing:
To his music, plants and flowers
Ever sprung; as sun and showers
There had made a lasting spring.

Everything that heard him play,
Even the billows of the sea,
Hung their heads, and the lay by.
In sweet music is such art,
Killing care and grief of heart
Fall asleep, or, hearing, die.

SAM By Walter De La Mare

Where Sam goes back in memory,
It is to where the sea
Breaks on the shingle, emerald-green,
In white foam, endlessly;

He ways-with small brown eye on mine-
"I used to keep awake,
And lean from my window in the moon,
Watching those billows break.

And half a million tiny hands,
And eyes, like sparks of frost,
Would dance and come tumbling into the moon,
On every beaker tossed.

And all across from star to star,
I've seen the watery sea,
With not a single ship in sight,
Just ocean there, and me;

And heard my father snore. And once,
Assure as I'm alive, Out of those wallowing, moon-flecked waves
I saw a mermaid dive;

Head and shoulders above the wave,
Plain as i now see you,
Combing her hair, now back, now front,
Her two eyes peeping through;

Calling me, 'Sam!' quiet like-'Sam!'...
But me...I never went,
Making believe I kind of thought

Twas some one else she meant...

Wonderful lovely there she sat,
Singing the night away,
All in the solitude sea
Of that there lonely bay.

"P'r'aps," and he'd smooth his hairless mouth,
"P'r'aps, if 'twere now, my son,
P'r'aps, if I heard a voice say, 'Sam!'...
Morning would find me gone."


Mermaid is Alexandra

PEACE By Henry Vaughan

My soul, there is a country
Afar beyond the stars,
Where stands a winged sentry
And skillful in the wars;
There, above noise and danger,
Sweet peace sits crowned with smiles,
And one born in a manger
Commands the beauteous files.
He is thy gracious friend,
And (O my soul, awake!)
Did in pure love descend,
To die here for thy sake.
If thou canst get but thither,
There grows the flower of peace,
The rose that cannot wither,
Thy fortress,and thy ease.
Leave then the foolish ranges;
For none can thee secure,
But one, who never changes,
Thy God, thy life, thy cure.

THE COW by Robert Louis Stevenson

The friendly cow all red and white,
I love with all my heart:
She gives me cream with all her might,
To eat with apple-tart.

She wanders lowing her and there,
And yet she cannot stray;
All in the pleasant open air,
The pleasant light to day;

And blown by all the winds that pass
And wet with all the showers,
She walks among the meadow grass
And eats the meadow flowers.

BEFORE SLEEPING anonymous

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John,
Bless the bed that I lie on.
Before I lay me down to sleep
I give my soul to Christ to keep.
Four corners to my bed,
Four angels the aspread,
Two to foot, and two to head,
And four to carry me when I'm dead.
I go by sea, I go by land,
Th Lord made me with His right hand.
If any danger come to me,
Sweet Jesus Christ deliver me.
He's the branch and I'm the flower,
Pray God send me a happy hour,
And if I die before I wake,
I pray that Christ my soul will take.

THE ANT by Oliver Herford

My child, ob-serve the use-ful Ant,
How hard she works each day;
She works as hard as ad-a-mant
(That's very hard, they say).
She has no time to gal-li-vant;
She has no time to play.
Let Fi-do chase hi tail all day;
Let Kit-ty play at tag;
She has no time to throw away,
She has no tail to wag;
She hur-ries round from morn till night;
She nev-er, nev-er sleeps;
She seiz-es ev-er-y thing in sight,
She drags it home with all her might,
And all she takes she keeps

THE ELF AND THE DORMOUSE

By Oliver Herford
Under a toadstool crept a wee Elf,
Out of the rain, to shelter himself.

Under the toadstool sound asleep,
Sat a big Dormouse all in a heap.

Trembled the wee Elf, frightened, and yet
Fearing to fly away lest he get wet.

To the next shelter- maybe a mile!
Sudden the wee Elf smiled a wee smile,

Tugged till the toadstool toppled in two.
Holding it over him, gayly he flew.

Soon he was safe home, dry as could be.
Soon woke the Dormouse- "Good gracious me!

"Where is my toadstool?" loud he lamented.
-And that's how umbrellas first were invented.