WeRead Powered by ReaderPub
Poems of childhood cover

Poems of childhood

Chapter 87: SWING HIGH AND SWING LOW
Open in WeRead

Explore more books like this:

About This Book

A collection of short lyrical poems written for and about children, blending playful nonsense, gentle lullabies, and nostalgic reminiscence. Many pieces evoke bedtime and nursery scenes, give voice to toys and animals, or imagine voyages and fairylike adventures, mixing humor with a tender melancholy. Several poems adapt or echo folk-song material, while others are brief narrative or character sketches that vary in meter and mood. Overall the verses create an intimate domestic atmosphere, inviting readers into childlike wonder through simple rhythms, vivid small-scale imagery, and affectionate observation.

SWING HIGH AND SWING LOW

Swing high and swing low
While the breezes they blow—
It’s off for a sailor thy father would go;
And it’s here in the harbor, in sight of the sea,
He hath left his wee babe with my song and with me
“Swing high and swing low
While the breezes they blow!”
Swing high and swing low
While the breezes they blow—
It’s oh for the waiting as weary days go!
And it’s oh for the heartache that smiteth me when
I sing my song over and over again:
“Swing high and swing low
While the breezes they blow!”
“Swing high and swing low”—
The sea singeth so,
And it waileth anon in its ebb and its flow;
And a sleeper sleeps on to that song of the sea
Nor recketh he ever of mine or of me!
“Swing high and swing low
While the breezes they blow—
’Twas off for a sailor thy father would go!”