Songs of the shining way

Chapter 9: THE MERCHANT SHIP.

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About This Book

A collection of short, lyrical poems for children that follows a child’s imaginative progress from dawn through meadows, play, and fanciful travels along a luminous pathway. Vignettes blend simple narratives—first steps, coach rides, fairyland, voyages, and garden scenes—with reflective pieces on moonlight, insects, and rainbows, highlighting wonder, innocence, and small discoveries. The verses are compact and rhythmic, often voiced from a child’s perspective, and are accompanied by the author’s own illustrations that reinforce the gentle, dreamlike mood.

THE MERCHANT SHIP.

Down by the side of the Shining Way

There’s a ship on the raging sea;

And she’s bearing a rich and royal load

Over the waves to me.

(There are cherries juicy and red and sweet,)

And when she has reached this side

The cargo’s mine, and the ship returns

To Jimmy across the tide.

If I blow right hard from my side of the sea

She steadily keeps her track;

And when she has travelled too far for me,

Jimmy will blow her back.