Cuckoo Song
Rudyard Kipling 1865 (Mumbai) – 1936 (London)
(Spring begins in southern England on the 14th April, on which date the Old Woman lets the Cuckoo out of her basket at Heathfield Fair -- locally known as Heffle Cuckoo Fair.)
Tell it to the locked-up trees,
Cuckoo, bring your song here!
Warrant, Act and Summons, please,
For Spring to pass along here!
Tell old Winder, if he doubt,
Tell him squat and square -- a!
Old Woman!
Old Woman!
Old Woman's let the Cuckoo out
At Heffle Cuckoo Fair -- a!
March has searched and April tried --
'Tisn't long to Mary now.
Not so far to Whitsuntide
And Cuckoo's come to stay now!
Hear the valiant fellow shout
Down the orchard bare -- a!
Old Woman!
Old Woman!
Old Woman's let the Cuckoo out
At Heffle Cuckoo Fair -- a!
When your heart is young and gay
And the season rules it --
Work your works and play your play
'Fore the Autumn cools it!
Kiss you turn and turn-about,
But my lad, beware -- a!
Old Woman!
Old Woman!
Old Woman's let the Cuckoo out
At Heffle Cuckoo Fair -- a!
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 13, 2023
- 57 sec read
- 188 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | x ababcdEECD xfcfcdEECD ghghcdEECD |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 941 |
Words | 188 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 10, 10, 10 |
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"Cuckoo Song" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/33185/cuckoo-song>.
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