Favorite Childhood Poem

Shel Silverstein
Prayer of a Selfish Child
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the lord my soul to keep,
And if I die before U wake,
pray thE lord my toys to break,
So none of the other kids can use' em...
Amen

 

~



wat zou je willen
met je bamboe billen
met je bamboe tieten
van het dak af schieten



~​

 

My first grade grandson just memorized this one for school:

My dog does my homework at home every night.
She answers each problem and gets them all right.

There's only one problem with homework by rover;
I can't turn in work that's been slobbered all over!

 

mine was a Shel Silverstein too. I'm gonna try and to it from memory instead of looking it up.

Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me too
Went for a ride in a flying shoe
Hooray! What fun! It's time we flew!
Cried Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me too.

Ickle was captain and Pickle was crew
And Tickle served coffee and mulligan stew
As higher and higher and higher they flew
Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me too!

Ickle Me, Pickle Me Tickle Me Too
Over the sun and beyond the blue
Hold on! Stay in! I hope we do!
Cried Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me too

Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me too
Never returned to the world they knew
and nobody knows what happened to
Dear Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me too


----and now I'm gonna look it up and check it for accuracy---
*edit* got one word wrong. First word in the last line of the first verse is said, not cried. Pretty damn good memory for something I haven't read since I was a kid

 

who didn't have to recite a silverstein poem at some point?
it's probably why I don't like them a bit now.

I remember in 4th grade I had to do one and I kept getting one line wrong. I'd say my mouth is swelling in my tongue, instead of the other way around :rolleyes;

 

I actually only found this poem a few year's ago. But yes, it is a Shel Silverstein poem haha. It actually mean's a lot to me. Really got deep w/ this poem in an altered state of mind once ha :sunny:

-FALLING UP-

I tripped on my shoelace
And I fell up--
Up to the roof tops,
Up over the town,
Up past the tree tops,
Up over the mountains,
Up where the colors,
Blend into the sounds,
But it got me so dizzy
When I looked around,
I got sick to my stomach
And I threw down.

 

My brother read 'The Raven' to me when I was younger. I have the coolest childhood poem possible.

But if you mean one meant for children; then, I like that one prayer.

Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray the lord my soul to keep
Guide me safely through the night
And wake me with the morning light

But then I hate the full version, which is not always used these days

And if I die before I wake
I pray the lord my soul to take.

 

"The Pied Piper of Hamelin" by Robert Browning.

My grandmother gave me an old Victorian edition with nice illustrations when I was quite young.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAeQi4uZUgk"]Winnie the Pooh: Cottlestin Pie - YouTube

 

I always loved this one the most as a kid.
Then I grew up to understand it's prejudice.
Kinda 'funny' how those things happened.



Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a thief;
Taffy came to my house and stole a piece of beef;
I went to Taffy's house, Taffy wasn't in;
I jumped upon his Sunday hat and poked it with a pin.

Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a sham;
Taffy came to my house and stole a piece of lamb;
I went to Taffy's house, Taffy was away,
I stuffed his socks with sawdust and filled his shoes with clay.

Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a cheat,
Taffy came to my house, and stole a piece of meat;
I went to Taffy's house, Taffy was not there,
I hung his coat and trousers to roast before a fire

 

You really do Edgar Allen Poe is amazing

 

У лукоморья дуб зелёный;
Златая цепь на дубе том:
И днём и ночью кот учёный
Всё ходит по цепи кругом;
Идёт направо - песнь заводит,
Налево - сказку говорит.
Там чудеса: там леший бродит,
Русалка на ветвях сидит;
Там на неведомых дорожках
Следы невиданных зверей;
Избушка там на курьих ножках
Стоит без окон, без дверей;
Там лес и дол видений полны;
Там о заре прихлынут волны
На брег песчаный и пустой,
И тридцать витязей прекрасных
Чредой из вод выходят ясных,
И с ними дядька их морской;
Там королевич мимоходом
Пленяет грозного царя;
Там в облаках перед народом
Через леса, через моря
Колдун несёт богатыря;
В темнице там царевна тужит,
А бурый волк ей верно служит;
Там ступа с Бабою Ягой
Идёт, бредёт сама собой,
Там царь Кащей над златом чахнет;
Там русский дух... там Русью пахнет!
И там я был, и мёд я пил;
У моря видел дуб зелёный;
Под ним сидел, и кот учёный
Свои мне сказки говорил.

 

here i sit in smelly vapors
waiting for some toilet paper
how much longer must i linger
'fore i'm forced to use my finger


it was on the wall in the school bathroom for a strangely long time.

 

"whenever i walk to suffrin, along the eirie track." because i thought it was talking about the track of erie railroad, that used to exist at the time.
"i pass by a poor old farmhouse, its shingles all broken and black"
because, you know, the things you can see from a train, are things they hide from being able to see along the highway from a bus or a car.
at any rate, that is as much as i remember of it.

oh the deacon's masterpiece (100 years and a day) was kind of fun too.

 

Another one I remember was from a Random House poetry book my grandma gave me as a kid. The author was "anonymous"

One night in late October
When I was far from sober
returning with my load with manly pride
My feet began to stutter
so I lay down in the gutter
and a pig came by and laid down at my side

A woman passing was heard to say,
"You can tell a man who boozes
by the company he chooses."
and the pig got up and slowly walked away

 

my dad was fond of quoting that last couplet, as am i. though neither he nor i could usually remember what came before.

i know it was fairly well known before i was born in the late 1940s.
it probably dates back to at least the temperance movement.