The Ring of Words

ROGER MCGOUGH
The Ring of Words
An anthology of poetry
for children
illustrated by SATOSHI KITAMURA
ff
faber andfaber
Contents
The Ring of Words
Words ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON 3
I am the Song
CHARLES CAUSLEY
4
An Ordinary Day NORMAN MacCAiG 5
The Word Party RICHARD EDWARDS 6
The All-Purpose Children's Poem ROGERMCGOUGH 7
First Echo KEN SMITH 8
Echo WALTER DE LA MARE 9
Question ROBERT SHURE 10
Hendecasyllables STEVIE SMITH 11
Myrtle THEODORE ROETHKE 12
Little Girl, Be Careful What You Say
CARL SANDBURG
Unfolding Bud NAOSHI KORIYAMA 14
'And What,' Said the Emperor GEORGE BARKER 15
Strange Story ANONYMOUS 16
Have You Ever Seen ANONYMOUS 17
Where? DAVE CALDER 18
Poemology ANSELM HOLLO 19
The Uncertainty of the Poet WINDY COPE 20
Wish in Spring SYLVIA TOWNSEND WARNER 21
Poem for a dead poet ROGER MCGOUGH 22
Saint Francis and the Birds SEAMUS HEANEY 23
The New Poem CHARLES WRIGHT 24
Deeds not Words
ANONYMOUS
25
Playing a Dazzler JAMES BERRY 26
My Name Is . . .
My Name Is ... PAULINE CLARKE 27
One JAMES BERRY 28
Two of Everything JACKIEKAY 29
My Little Eye ROGER MCGOUGH 30
The Visitors BRIAN MCCABE 31
The Shoes JOHN MOLE 32
Thumb PHILIP DACEY 33
Three Brothers JOYCE GRENFELL 34
A Recollection FRANCES CORNFORD
36
Grandad KIT WRIGHT 37
Hide and Seek
VERNON SCANNELL
A Boy MATTHEW SWEENEY 39
38
13
CONTENTS
It was Long Ago ELEANOR FARJEON 40
You Can't Be That BRIAN PATTEN 42
A Small Girl Swinging GEORGE SZIRTES 44
Boy on a Swing OSWALD MBUYISENI MTSHALI 45
Whee! CAROL ANN DUFFY 46
I am Falling off a Mountain JACK PRELUTSKY
The Tailspin EDWARD FIELD 48
Cabbages KAREN SLOTNICK 49
The Radio Men ELIZABETH JENNINGS
47
50
The Railway Children SEAMUS HEANEY 51
Cold Feet BRIAN LEE 52
I Stepped from Plank to Plank EMILY
Manco the Peruvian Chief REDMOND
DICKINSON 53
PHILLIPS 54
Attention Seeking JACKIE KAY 56
Chalks of Many Colours
Why Must We Go to School?
ALLAN AHLBERG
58
Lost ALLAN AHLBERG 59
The Coat DENNIS LEE 60
The Suit ROGER MCGOUGH 61
The Dunce JACQUES PREVERT 62
A Conversation Overheard ANONYMOUS 63
Homework RUSSELL HOBAN 64
Playgrounds BERLIE DOHERTY 65
Only the Wall MATTHEW SWEENEY 66
The Bully ADRIAN MITCHELL 68
Stevie Scared RICHARD EDWARDS 69
Xovesick JACKIE KAY 70
Yellow HELEN DUNMORE 72
Eily Kilbride
BRENDAN KENNELLY
73
A Stranger Called this Morning
The Janitor's Boy NATHALIA CRANE 74
My Mother Said ANONYMOUS 75
Dear Mum BRIAN PATTEN 76
Cat in the Tumble Drier jo SHAPCOTT JJ
Woman Work MAYA'ANGBIOU 78
Lady-bird, Lady-bird ANONYMOUS 79
The True History of Resurrection Jack EVANGELINE
St Brigid and the Baker TONY MITTON 81
Ballad of the Bread Man CHARLES CAUSLEY 82
PATERSON
80
CONTENTS
People D. H. LAWRENCE 85
The Sound Collector
ROGER MCGOUGH 86
Counting the Mad DONALD JUSTICE 88
The Nobody on the Hill MATTHEW SWEENEY
89
The Hermit w. H. DA VIES 90
At a Country Fair THOMAS HARDY 91
The Blind Boxer w. H. DAVIES 92
My Mother Saw a Dancing Bear CHARLES
CAUSLEY
94
Be Like the Bird
The Small Brown Bear MICHAEL BALDWIN 95
Panda Power jo SHAPCOTT 96
The Tyger WILLIAM BLAKE 97
The King of Cats NANCY WILLARD 98
Cat's Funeral E. V. RIEU 100
Cleaning Ladies KIT WRIGHT 101
Be Like the Bird VICTOR HUGO 102
Riddle GEORGE SZIRTES 103
Starling on a green Lawn NORMAN MaccAiG 104
Song JOHN KEATS 105
Song of the Snails Who Go to the Funeral JACQUES
Worms and the Wind CARL SANDBURG 108
The Tickle Rhyme IAN SERRAILLIER 109
PREVERT
H25 ADRIAN HENRI 110
At the Bottom of the Garden GRACE NICHOLS, n o
Black dot LIBBY HOUSTON m
Mice are Funny Little Creatures TED HUGHES 112
The Bat THEODORE ROETHKE 114
'Observe this precept whenever you can' SA'DI 115
Elephant Dreams IAN MCMILLAN 116
The Blind Men and the Elephant JOHN GODFREY SAXE 118
Down Behind the Dustbin MICHAEL ROSEN 120
Jabberwocky LEWIS CARROLL 121
The Magnificent Bull DINKA TRIBE 124
My Twelve Oxen ANONYMOUS 125
Thoughts like an Ocean
The Sea R. S. THOMAS 126
maggie and milly and molly and may E. E. CUMMINGS 127
Thoughts like an Ocean GARETH OWEN 128
Advice to Young Children STEVIE SMITH 130
106
CONTENTS
Neither Out Far nor In Deep
ROBERT FROST 131
Not Waving but Drowning STEVIE SMITH 132
Sea Fever JOHN MASEFIELD 133
A Smuggler's Song RUDYARD KIPLING 134
Going to America RICHARD EDWARDS 136
O Sailor, Come Ashore CHRISTINA ROSSETTI 137
Kicking Up the Winter
Look, No Hands JAMES BERRY 138
New Year exhilaration TED HUGHES 139
Wet Evening in April PATRICK KAVANAGH 140
Four Ducks on a Pond WILLIAM ALLINGHAM 140
I Meant to Do My Work Today RICHARD LE GALLIENNE 141
Tall Nettles EDWARD THOMAS 142
'My son aged three' VERNON SCANNELL 143
The Birderman ROGER MCGOUGH 144
The Trees PHILIP LARKIN 146
Millions of Strawberries GENEVIEVE TAGGARD
The Garden Fairy SPIKE MILLIGAN 148
The Pasture ROBERT FROST 149
147
Pleasant Sounds JOHN CLARE 150
A Hot Day A. S. J. TESSIMOND 151
The Sick Rose WILLIAM BLAKE 152
The Way through the Woods
RUDYARD KIPLING
Autumn ALAN BOLD 154
Late Autumn Poem ROGER MCGOUGH 155
The Trees Dance LIBBY HOUSTON 156
The Wind KEVIN HART 157
153
Allie ROBERT GRAVES I58
Conceit MERVYN PEAKE 160
Thaw EDWARD THOMAS l6o
Windy Nights
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
161
Kite JUNE CREBBIN 162
No! THOMAS HOOD 163
The Fog w. H. DAVIES 164
Winter JUDITH NICHOLLS 165
Red Boots On KIT WRIGHT 166
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening ROBERT
Boy at the Window RICHARD WILBUR 169
Snowball CAROL ANN DUFFY 170
FROST 168
CONTENTS
XI
Conservation Piece
The Small Window
R. S. THOMAS 172
My Heart's in the Highlands ROBERT BURNS 173
Conservation Piece ROGER MCGOUGH 174
Song of the City GARETH OWEN 175
The River's Story BRIAN PATTEN 176
Poisoned Talk RAYMOND WILSON 178
The Soldiers Came JOHN AGARD 179
Ballad w. H. AUDEN 180
Everything Changes
CICELY HERBERT
182
Sometimes SHEENAGH PUGH 183
Escape at Bedtime
Questions at Night LOUIS UNTERMEYER 184
Song in Space ADRIAN MITCHELL 185
Escape at Bedtime ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON 186
Night and Stars STANLEY COOK 187
The Night Will Never Stay ELEANOR FARJEON 187
Stars and Planets NORMAN MaccAiG 188
I'll Sail upon the Dog-Star THOMAS DURFEY 189
Wynken, Blynken^ and Nod EUGENE FIELD 190
from The Bed Book SYLVIA PLATH 192
Magic Story for Falling asleep NANCY WILLARD 194
Lullaby ANONYMOUS 195
Dream Poem JOHN WHITWORTH 196
Round the Park MICHAEL ROSEN 198
To See a Ghost PHILIP GROSS 199
Disillusionment of Ten O'clock WALLACE STEVENS 200
The Deserted House MARY COLERIDGE 201
The Listeners WALTER DE LA MARE 202
Green Man in the Garden CHARLES CAUSLEY 204
All of Us KIT WRIGHT 2O5
Ozymandias PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY 206
The Art of Losing ELIZABETH BISHOP 207
On his Thirty-third Birthday CH'ANG KUO FAN 208
'Weary, I tear open the shopping' ROBERT GRAY 209
Transformation EVANGELINE PATERSON 209
You Are Old, Father William LEWIS CARROLL 210
Fairy Tale MIROSLAV HOLUB 212
The Magpies DENIS GLOVER 213
Why Brownlee Left
PAUL MULDOON
214
XII
I Have Always Known
CONTENTS
NARIHIRA
215
Uphill CHRISTINA ROSSETTI 2l6
Benediction
Daydream A. S. J. TESSIMOND 217
Back Home Contemplation GRACE NICHOLS 218
You can go now CARL SANDBURG 219
Spell of Creation KATHLEEN RAINE 220
Benediction JAMES BERRY 222
Words ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON 223
Acknowledgements 225
Index of Poets 231

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