Poetry Friday: The Swing

The Swing

by Robert Louis Stevenson

How do you like to go up in a swing,

Up in the air so blue?

Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing

Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,

Till I can see so wide,

Rivers and trees and cattle and all

Over the countryside–

Till I look down on the garden green,

Down on the roof so brown–

Up in the air I go flying again,

Up in the air and down!

I spent hours on my swing set when I was a kid. Nothing compared to the exhilarating feeling of sailing up in to the air, then whooshing back down. Stevenson’s poem perfectly describes this glorious sensation. When my children were babies, they loved to hang out in their swing while I cooked dinner. Even now, with all our 21st century technology and gadgets available, kids still line up for their turn on the swings at the playground. Go outside today and swing, just for fun!

Be sure to visit Jone at Check It Out for the Poetry Friday Round Up.

Poetry Friday: Picture-Books in Winter

In case you haven’t heard, May is Get Caught Reading month. Sponsored by the Association of American Publishers since 1999, Get Caught Reading month is “a nationwide campaign to remind people of all ages how much fun it is to read.” You can find out more, including how to order the celebrity posters, here.

To celebrate, here is Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Picture-Books in Winter,”  a reminder that books allow us to experience any adventure imaginable, no matter what the season.

Picture-Books In Winter

Summer fading, winter comes–

Frosty mornings, tingling thumbs,

Window robins, winter rooks,

And the picture story-books.

Water now is turned to stone

Nurse and I can walk upon;

Still we find the flowing brooks

In the picture story-books.

All the pretty things put by,

Wait upon the children’s eye,

Sheep and shepherds, trees and crooks,

In the picture story-books.

We may see how all things are

Seas and cities, near and far,

And the flying fairies looks,

In the picture story-books.

How am I to sing your praise,

Happy chimney-corner days,

Sitting safe in nursery nooks,

Reading picture story-books?

by Robert Louis Stevenson

Pick up a book and have an adventure today!

You can learn more about Robert Louis Stevenson and read other poems from A Child’s Garden of Verses at Poets.org. Also, be sure to visit Liz Steinglass at her lovely blog for the round up of poems.