Thursday, October 22, 2009

Poetry 11

We had a star party tonight to finish off our astronomy class. It was amazing to look through telescopes and see the craters on the moon, Jupiter with three of its moons, and the far-away blur of the Andromeda galaxy. But I had just as much fun staring up into the sky and trying to pick out stars that were on my star chart. Later, after we came home and the rest of the family went to bed, I opened up A Child's Garden of Verses to find a poem I had in mind to post, and I came upon a different poem I don't remember reading before. But just look how appropriate it is after an evening of star-watching! I'll have to read it with my kids tomorrow.


Escape at Bedtime
by Robert Louis Stevenson

The lights from the parlor and kitchen shone out
    Through the blinds and the windows and bars;
And high overhead and all moving about,
    There were thousands of millions of stars.
There ne'er were such thousands of leaves on a tree,
    Nor of people in church or the park,
As the crowds of the stars that looked down upon me,
    And that glittered and winked in the dark.
The Dog, and the Plough, and the Hunter, and all,
    And the star of the sailor, and Mars,
These shone in the sky, and the pail by the wall
    Would be half-full of water and stars.
They saw me at last, and they chased me with cries,
    And they soon had me packed into bed;
But the glory kept shining and bright in my eyes,
    And the stars going round in my head.



1 comment:

Harmony said...

I was raised on "A Child's Garden of Verses," although I don't think I've ever heard that one. Thanks for sharing!