April is National Poetry month. From The Long Winter, (Chapter 22, “Cold and Dark”):
In the afternoons Mary and Laura and Carrie recited. Even Grace knew “Mary’s Little Lamb,” and “Bo-Peep Has Lost Her Sheep.” Laura liked to see Grace’s blue eyes and Carrie’s shine with excitement when she told them:
“Listen, my children, and you shall hear,
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year…”
April 18 is the perfect time to brush up on your Paul Revere’s Ride recitation skills. In the eighth grade, I memorized it for history class; I can still get a few verses in before fumbling.
Here is a poem you won’t have read anywhere before. It was written by Paul Cooley (1884-1981); see On the Way Home and a Lore article and a Rocky Ridge Review article written by moi. George Cooley’s son, Frank, shared this poem back in 1998 with my son Pearce, who memorized it on the spot. Printed here with permission, so copyrights apply. [update: It appears that this is a variation on another poem, no not an original Cooley creation, but copyright laws apply, nonetheless.]
Spring Has Came to Arkansas
Spring has came, winter has went,
It was not did by accident.
The birds have sang, the grass has grew,
The sun it showed on I and you.
The creeks have ran with melting snow,
St. Francis River done overflow;
The ducks have flew as you have saw,
And spring has came to Arkansas.
