The rainy weather today made me think of a favorite poem from Now We are Six, by AA Milne.
Waiting at the Window
there are my two drops of rain
Waiting on the wndow-pane.
I am waiting here to see
Which the winning one wll be.
Both of them have different names.
One is John and one is James.
All the best and all the worst
Comes from which of them is first.
James has just begun to ooze.
He's the one I want to loose.
John is waiting to begin.
He's the one I want to win.
James is going slowly on.
Something sort of sticks to John.
John is moving off at last.
James is going pretty fast.
John is rushing down the pane.
James is going slow again.
James has met a sort of smear.
John is getting very near.
Is he going fast enough?
(James has found a piece of fluff.)
John has hurried quickly by.
(James is talking to a fly.)
John is there, and John has won!
Look! I told you! Here's the sun!
Milne's poetry got short shrift in my mind when I was a child; I prefered to read Pooh. But even then there were poems that I enjoyed tremendously . The charming cat poem Pinkle Purr, for instance, and the powerful (I mean it) King John's Christmas. My favorite poem, however, is from When we Were Very Young. It's called Disobedience---it's the one about James James Morrision Morrison Weatherby George Dupree. If you haven't read it, do! It's too long to type here. And don't skip the introductions. Milne is a great essayist, who would doubtless have a wonderful blog if he were alive today.
The poetry round up is at Big A little A today.
I always loved this poem. I used to watch raindrops on the window too, and wish for my favorites to win. I memorized that John John one once - it is so fun to chant. I also love the one halfway up and down the stairs...
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing some Milne! He's my absolute favorite poet! And Disobedience is my favorite of his poems too! It's got the best cadence and is just such a fun poem. It's a blast to read out loud (I even used it as one of two monologues for an audition once because of how good it sounds when spoken aloud). I'm glad I'm not the only one who loves it!
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