Short Shorts Poetry

Barefoot Days

by Rachl Field

In the morning, very early,
That’s the time I love to go
Barefoot where the fern grows curly
And the grass is cool between each toe,
On a summer morning – O!
On a summer morning!

That is when the birds go by
Up the sunny slopes of air,
And each rose has a butterfly
Or a golden bee to wear;
And I am glad in every toe –
Such a summer morning – O!
Such a summer morning!


The World

by William Brighty Rands

Great, wide, beautiful, wonderful world,
With the wonderful water round you curled,
And the wonderful grass upon your breast,
World, you are beautifully drest.


Mrs. September

by Steven Carlson

Mrs. September will you remember the color of your trees?
Mr. Ocotber will you watch over the life of all your leaves?
Mrs. November can I be a member of your fireside?
Mr. December as light as a feather, may we see your silent night.


The Mist and All

by Dixie Willson

I like the fall,
The mist and all.
I like the night owl’s
Lonely call—
And wailing sound
Of wind around.

I like the gray
November day,
And bare dead boughs
That coldly sway
Against my pane,
I like the rain.

I like to sit
And laugh at it—
And tend
My cozy fire a bit.
I like the fall—
The mist and all.


Gaelic Lullaby

Traditional

Hush the waves are rolling in,
White with foam, white with foam;
Father toils amid the din;
But baby sleeps at home.

Hush the winds roar hoarse and deep,—
On they come, on they come!
Brother seeks the wandering sheep;
But baby sleeps at home.

Hush! the rain sweeps o'er the knowes,
Where they roam, where they roam;
Sister goes to seek the cows;
But baby sleeps at home.


Who Has Seen the Wind?

by Christina Rossetti

Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you;
But when the leaves hang trembling,
The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I;
But when the trees
Bow down their heads,
The wind is passing by.


St. Christopher’s Hospice

by David Melby-Gibbons

St. Christopher’s Hospice
The Pilgrim room
Tell me, when are you coming?
I will be there soon.

St. Christopher’s Hospice
On the pilgrim side
Tell me, when are you coming?
I am still alive.


The Day Before April

by Mary Carolyn Davies

The day before April
Alone, alone,
I walked in the woods
And sat on a stone.

I sat on a broad stone
And sang to the birds.
The tune was God’s making
But I made the words.


April

by Eunice Tietjens

The Tulips now are pushing up
Like small green knuckles through the ground.
The grass is young and doubtful yet.
The robin takes a look around.
And if you listen you can hear
Spring laughing with a windy sound.


Vidas Plenas

by Liz Herrera de Cabezas

Hay un lugar especial para mi
Me gusta venir y compartir
Es divertido y lleno de amor
Y puedo conocer de mi Se­­­nor

Vidas Plenas, Guatemala
Crezco, disfruto y aprendo a vivir
Vidas Plenas, Guatemala
Todo lo bueno que Dios quiere para mi

There is a special place for me
I like to come, learn and share
It is fun and filled with love
And I can know more about my Lord

Plentiful life, Guatemala
I grow, I enjoy and learn how to live
Plentiful life, Guatemala
All the great things that God wants for me


Drummer In The Living Room

by David Melby-Gibbons

I know You
Drummer in the living room
I’ve seen You
Drumming up our living room
You know all
You know all that is true
In the living room
You know all
You know all that we can do
In your living womb


A Mother’s Song

by Christina Rossetti

Love me—I love you,
Love me, my baby;
Sing it high, sing it low,
Sing it as may be.

Mother’s arms under you,
Her eyes above you;
Sing it high, sing it low,
Love me—I love you.


Simple Simon

Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme

Simple Simon, met a pieman going to the fair;
Said Simple Simon to the pieman, “(Pray), let me taste your ware!”
Said the pieman, to Simple Simon, “(Then let me have) your penny,”
Said Simple Simon to the pieman, “(Indeed) I have not any!”


Hot Pies

Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme

There was an old woman.
Sold puddings and pies;
She went to the mill
And dust flew in her eyes.
While through the streets,
To all she meets
She ever cries:
“Hot Pies—Hot Pies!”


Feel My Fat Disappearin’

by Christie and David Melby-Gibbons

Blessed Day is Nearin’ (I Feel my fat disappearin’)
Now the sky is clearin’ (I Feel my fat disappearin’)
I feel my fat, I feel my fat, I feel my fat disappearin’
I feel my fat, I feel my fat, I feel may fat disappearin’

There’s no need for fearin’ (I feel my fat disappearin’)
All our friends are cheerin’ (I feel my fat disappearin’)
I feel my fat, I feel my fat, I feel my fat disappearin’
I feel my fat, I feel my fat, I feel may fat disappearin’

Much less beef and beerin’ (I feel my fat disappearin’)
Watch this sheep now sheerin’ (I feel my fat disappearin’)
I feel my fat, I feel my fat, I feel my fat disappearin’
I feel my fat, I feel my fat, I feel may fat disappearin’


On Saturday Night

Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme

On Saturday night I lost my wife,
And where do you think I found her?
Up in the moon, singing a tune,
And all the stars around her.


To Bed, To Bed, Says Sleepy-Head

Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme

“To bed, to bed,” says Sleepy-Head;
“Let’s stay awhile,” says Slow;
“Put on the pot,” says Greedy-Sot,
“We’ll sup before we go.”


Longed-For Time

by David Melby-Gibbons

When we first discovered land
It was a promise we would stand
For a long, longed-for time
You were making up your mind

When we first discovered food
It was a song you called it good
For a long, longed-for time
You had made up your mind

When we first discovered love
It was a seed within your glove
For a long, longed for time
You were making up your mind
For a long, longed-for time
As you made up your mind


Three Guests

by Jessica Nelson North

I had a little tea party
This afternoon at three.
'Twas very small-
Three guest in all-
Just I, myself and me.

Myself ate all the sandwiches,
While I drank up the tea;
'Twas also I who ate the pie
And passed the cake to me.


Solomon Grundy

Traditional, 1842 England

Solomon Grundy,
Born on a Monday,
Christened on Tuesday,
Married on Wednesday,
Took ill on Thursday,
Worse on Friday,
Died on Saturday,
Buried on Sunday.
This is the end
Of Solomon Grundy.


World of Wonder

by William Stanley Braithwaite

Heart free, hand free,
Blue above, brown under,
All the world to me
Is a place of wonder.
Sun shine, moon shine,
Stars, and winds a-blowing,
All into this heart of mine
Flowing, flowing, flowing!


Psalmo 23

Holy Bible, by the psalmist

The Lord es mi pastor, y nada me faltará
En pastos delicados Él me hará descansar
And leads me to quiet pools and fresh water. Amen.

My Shepherd Will Supply My Need

The text for this hymn was written by Issac Watts (1719); the tune is taken from W. Walker's Southern Harmony (1835).

Hello I Am

ONCE IN AWHILE YOU MAKE US SMILE!






OH MY LOVELY ROSE

My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less

Please listen to this hymn! Press play on the upper left side.

Many thanks to Bill Schachter ("One take Willy") for recording this hymn and offering to share it here. It was composed by Edward Mote (c.1834) and William B. Bradbury (1863).
(Please note, I've yet to find a way to upload Willy's notation. For now, view the photos of hymn 771. This can be played in the key of C with a capo on fret 5, which puts it in the key of F.)

Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand

This hymn was composed by Henry Alford (1867) and Frederick Arthur Gore Ouseley (1867). "This all saints hymn...is a special favorite for Moravian funeral services" (Albert Frank, Companion to the Moravian Book of Worship, p. 73).

1. Ten thousand times ten thousand in sparkling raiment bright, the armies of the ransomed saints throng up the steeps of light!

'Tis finished, all is finished, their fight with death and sin. Fling open wide the golden gates, and let the victors in!

2. What rush of hallelujas fills all the earth and sky! What ringing of a thousand harps be-speaks the triumph nigh!

O day, for which creation and all its tribes were made! O Joy, for all its former woes a thousand-fold repaid!

3. O then what raptured greetings on Canaan's happy shore; what knitting severed friendships up, where partings are no more!

Then eyes with joy shall sparkle that brimmed with tears of late, no orphans left without a home, nor mourners desolate.

4. Bring near your great salvation, O Lamb for sinners slain; fill up the roll of your elect, then take your pow'r, and reign!

Appear, Desire of nations, your exiles long for home; show in the heav'n your promised sign; then, Prince and Savior, come.

"Till He Come!"

This song was suddenly interrupted with a surprise phone call from our friend. Was it a mistake, or was it good timing? The text was written by Edward Henry Bickersteth (1862), while the tune was written by Dmitri Bortnianski (1822), and later altered. Our friend Gloria tells us that "Till He Come!" is regularly sung at Communion services in Nicaragua.

Bread of Life

The tune Holy Lord (119 A) is imagined here as a communion song, taken from The Service For Holy Communion: In Celebration of Unity and Renewal (Moravian Church of America). The text is a mystery to me, as I can't determine the author. The song is sung amidst a background of bread and baking materials, reminding us of the care with which Jesus feeds us.