Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw, within the moonlight in his room,
Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,
An Angel writing in a book of gold:

Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,
And to the Presence in the room he said,
"What writest thou?" The Vision raised its head,
And with a look made of all sweet accord
Answered, "The names of those who love the Lord."

"And is mine one?" said Abou. "Nay, not so,"
Replied the Angel. Abou spoke more low,

There stood poor Jenny, wat'ry-eyed,
In sorrow on the hillock's side,
In mourning for her cousin dead;
With dark locks by her comely head
And roundly-bending neck, left bare
Above her frock, and lily fair.
For Buckley bells had brought her tears,
Then ringing in her wax-white ears,
Their far-off peal, ding dong, ding dong .
Her shortest days will now be long,
For he she lov'd has done her wrong.
Poor Jane of Buckley-hill.

Lines, as from a Lyttel Booke of Balettys and Dyties, enscribed to Richard Nix Bishoppe, by his Admyring, Faithful Friend, John Skelton, Rector of Diss:

The Abbot of Derry
—Hates Satan and Sin;
'Tis strange of him, very;
They're both his blood-kin;
And the Devil go bury the Abbot of Derry,
And bury him deep, say I!

The Abbot of Derry
Has woman nor wine.
'Tis kind of him, very,
To leave them all mine:
And the Devil go bury the Abbot of Derry,
And bury him deep, say I!

Says the Abbot of Derry:
“To-morrow ye die!”

Abbot is painting me so true,
That (trust me) you would stare,
And hardly know, at the first view,
If I were here, or there.

When other birds sing not,
Rifting the dreary rain,
Then cheerly, sparrow, you
Pipe your timely strain.

A hasty, wayward song,
Right faulty, I dare say;
But who will find it so
On a rainy day?

The critics nod, not you,
Minstrel of drizzly skies;
Sparrow, you know your hour.
Would we were half as wise!

WI' CHILDERN AN' OTHER VO'KS IN HOUSE

A-zellen meat-weäre I shall get noo meat,
I mussen keep a shop o' weäres to eat.
I have zome goods, but I do hardly think
They be a-zwold so vast as they do shrink.
I have zome goods, but zomehow all my stocks
Do weäste away lik' camphor in a box.
Hand after han' do come, and slily clips
A bit an' bit to veed zome peäir o' lips.
You vo'k in house don't wait vor gain o' treäde,
But teäke the store avore the gain's a-meäde.
I had zome aggs, an' I do miss zome aggs,

The urge of the seed: the germ.
The urge of the germ: the stalk.
The urge of the stalk: leaves.
The urge of leaves: the blossom.
The urge of the blossom: to scatter pollen.
The urge of the pollen: the imagined dream of life.
The urge of life: longing for to-morrow.
The urge of to-morrow: Pain.
The urge of Pain: God.

Now, a oving, a roving, Since roving has been
my downfall, I'll go no more a roving with you, fair
maid! Mark well what I do say! Oh, a roving, a
roving, Since roving has been my downfall, I'll go no more a
roving with you, fair maid!

1 When I laid my hand upon her knee,
She said, " Young man, you're being rather free!
Won't you please go 'way and leave me, your fair young maid? "

2 Now, when I laid my hand upon her old bustle,
She said, " Young man, you're a-goin' to have a tussle! "

This slender spire of glossy stone,
A nation's emblem poised above,
Speaks it to bleeding hearts alone?
Ensign of sorrow and of love?

Or here, upon this village green,
In half-light of the autumn day,
Meet we to mourn for what has been,
A tale, a triumph passed away?

Yes, more: our gift is generous
As theirs who gave their lifeblood free;
Not to the dead alone, to us
Ourselves, and ours that yet shall be.

We consecrate for distant years —
No idle rite, our deep hearts stirred,

A peels an apple, while B kneels to God,
C telephones to D, who has a hand
On E's knee, F coughs, G turns up the sod
For H's grave, I do not understand
But J is bringing one clay pigeon down
While K brings down a nightstick on L's head,
And M takes mustard, N drives into town,
O goes to bed with P, and Q drops dead,
R lies to S, but happens to be heard
By T, who tells U not to fire V
For having to give W the word
That X is now deceiving Y with Z,
Who happens just now to remember A