William Brighty Rands

I am the cat of cats
I
The everlasting cat
Cunning, and old, and sleek as jam,

Godfrey Gordon Gustavus Gore —No doubt you have heard the name before —Was a boy who never would shut a door
The wind might whistle, the wind might roar,
And teeth be aching and throats be sore,
But still he never would shut the door

Nine grenadiers, with bayonets in their guns;
Nine bakers' baskets, with hot cross buns;
Nine brown elephants standing in a row;
Nine new velocipedes, good ones to go;

When Love arose in heart and deed To wake the world to greater joy, 'What can she give me now
' said Greed, Who thought to win some costly toy
He rose, he ran, he stoop'd, he clutch'd; And soon the Flowers, that Love let fall, In Greed's...

I
AW a new world in my dream, Where all the folks alike did seem: There was no Child, there was no Mother, There was no Change, there was no Other
For everything was Same, the Same; There was no praise, there was no blame; There was neit...

Great, wide, beautiful, wonderful World,
With the wonderful water round you curled,
And the wonderful grass upon your breast-World, you are beautifully
The wonderful air is over me,

Into the skies, one summer's day, I sent a little Thought away; Up to where, in the blue round, The sun sat shining without sound
Then my Thought came back to me
—Little Thought, what did you see In the regions whence you come
And w...

Seven sweet singing birds up in a tree;
Seven swift sailing ships white upon the sea;
Seven bright weather-cocks shining in the sun;
Seven slim race-horses ready for a run;

The Cuckoo sat in the old pear-tree,  Cuckoo
Raining or snowing, nought cared he
Cuckoo
Cuckoo, cuckoo, nought cared he

Winifred Waters sat and sighed Under a weeping willow; When she went to bed she cried, Wetting all the pillow; Kept on crying night and day, Till her friends lost patience; "What shall we do to stop her, pray
" So said her relations...

There once was a wood, and a very thick wood,
So thick that to walk was as much as you could;
But a sunbeam got in, and the trees understood
I went to this wood, at the end of the snows,

Brown eyes, Straight nose; Dirt pies, Rumpled clothes; Torn books, Spoilt toys; Arch looks, Unlike a boy's; Little rages, Obvious arts; (Three her age is,) Cakes, tarts; Falling down Off chairs; Breaking crown Down stairs; Catching flies On the pa...