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The Children’s Hour -- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Guest poem sent in by Matthew Brooks
(Poem #1396) The Children’s Hour
 Between the dark and the daylight,
 When the night is beginning to lower,
 Comes a pause in the day's occupations
 That is known as the Children's Hour.

 I hear in the chamber above me
 The patter of little feet,
 The sound of a door that is opened,
 And voices soft and sweet.

 From my study I see in the lamplight,
 Descending the broad hall-stair,
 Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra,
 And Edith with golden hair.

 A whisper, and then a silence:
 Yet I know by their merry eyes
 They are plotting and planning together
 To take me by surprise.

 A sudden rush from the stairway,
 A sudden raid from the hall!
 By three doors left unguarded
 They enter my castle wall!

 They climb up into my turret
 O'er the arms and back of my chair;
 If I try to escape, they surround me;
 They seem to be everywhere.

 They almost devour me with kisses,
 Their arms about me entwine,
 Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen
 In his Mouse-Tower on the Rhine!

 Do you think, O blue-eyed banditti,
 Because you have scaled the wall,
 Such an old moustache as I am
 Is not a match for you all?

 I have you fast in my fortress,
 And will not let you depart,
 But put you down into the dungeons
 In the round-tower of my heart.

 And there will I keep you forever,
 Yes, forever and a day,
 Till the walls shall crumble to ruin,
 And moulder in dust away!
-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Note: Published in The Atlantic Monthly; September 1860.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet, 1807-1882. A narrative poet in
the grand tradition; his poems are full of images, atmosphere, suspense, and
emotion. He is identified with American history and legend: his most
well-known works include poems The Song of Hiawatha, The Midnight Ride of
Paul Revere, The Courtship of Miles Standish. I always picture the
illustrations of N.C. Wyeth when I read these poems. During his lifetime he
was popular, widely read and celebrated, sometimes to the disdain of more
literary poets and critics.

This is one of the first poems I ever remember hearing. I think it was in a
book of poetry that my mother would occasionally read from to my sisters and
me. More than the words themselves, it's the rhythm and pace of it that
sends me back in time – the poetry equivalent of Proust's madeleine. I
always loved the images of the little girls sneaking down the stairs, and
the exotic idea of the "Mouse-Tower" on the Rhine. And I always thought that
the last stanza was oddly adult and melancholy for a children's poem, but
now, from an adult's perspective, it has a different meaning.

Matthew

Here's a link to some of Wyeth's illustrations:
http://www.library.pitt.edu/libraries/is/enroom/illustrators/wyeth2.htm

[Unfortunately, I couldn't find any of his "Courtship of Miles Standish"
illustrations, but those should convey the general flavour - martin]

18 comments: ( or Leave a comment )

Mallika Chellappa said...

Lovely poem, but always associated, in my mind,
with the Mad Magazine illustrations.

Mad used to pick up classics and parody them or
illustrate them without changing the text -
another to receive this treatment is "The Raven"
and many more I cannot recollect at this time.

The parody on Hiawatha was a barfly called
Melvin Watha, the metre was perfect.

Lemme see

"At the bar called Gitchy Goomy
Where they serve the giggle water
Way up town on Twenty second
By the restaurant Nokomis
There the barfly Melvin Watha
..
..
Falls across the bar unconscious".

Mallika

Chellappa Mallika (Mallika) said...

A Lovely poem, but always associated, in my mind,
with the Mad Magazine illustrations.
Mad used to pick up classics and parody them or
illustrate them without changing the text;
another to receive this treatment is "The Raven",
and many more I cannot recollect at this time.
The parody on Hiawatha was about a barfly called
Melvin Watha, whose friends greeted him "Hiya, Watha"
The metre was perfect!
Lemme see

"At the bar called Gitchy Goomy
Where they serve the giggle water
Way up town on Twenty second
By the restaurant Nokomis
There the barfly Melvin Watha
..
..
..
Falls across the bar unconscious".

Mallika

DAVIDL SMITH said...

Hi Mallika ...
I have no idea how old this posting might be, but we share an interest
in "Melvin Watha".

I would like to buy the MAD issue that contains this gem, or a xerox
of the pages, or even the text of the poem.

My feeble brain remembers
1 - references to Feldman's bagel factory
2 - Melvin was a shoe clerk
3 - Not much more

Help me if you can. Thanks.

Dave

Andrew J Melchert said...

I used to have the issue where this marvelous parody was published, and
I, too have been looking for it for about 30 years.

The last two lines:

keeps on boozing, gets more sullen,
falls across the bar unconscious.

Andy M
Richmond, VA

Anonymous said...

Here's how I remember it...

At the bar called Gitchy Goomy
Where they serve the giggle water
Way up town on eighty-second
Near the restaurant Nokomis
There the shoe clerk Melvin Watha
Guzzles cola laced with bourbon
Doesn't pay the least attention
When the far more cheery drunkards
Call out gaily, Hiya Watha!
???
Keeps on boozin' gets more sullen
Falls across the bar unconsious

Anonymous said...

It is so gratifying to see other people conjuring up the verses of this classic Mad Mag parody. There were at least two more lines I as I recall

At the bar called Gitchy Goomy
Where they serve the giggle water
Way up town on eighty-second
Near the restaurant Nokomis
There the shoe clerk Melvin Watha
Guzzles cola laced with bourbon
Dreams of owning a pipestone quarry
Thinks he's Wally Cox the mighty

Doesn't pay the least attention
Keeps on boozin' gets more sullen
Falls across the bar unconsious
Ignores the the far more cheery drunkards
Calling out gaily, Hiya Watha!

Jimbo

Anonymous said...

Another version:

In the bar called Gitchee-Goomee
Where they serve the giggle water
Way up town on Eighty-Second
Near the Restaurant Nokomis
Down by Feldman's bagel factory
There the shoe clerk, Melvin Watha,
Guzzles cola laced with bourbon
Gets ideas then of much grandeur
Thinks he owns a pipestone quarry
Says he's Wally Cox the mighty
Downs one shot and then another
Laps it up till eyes get bleary
Doesn't pay the least attention
When the far more cheery drunkards
Call out gaily, "Hiya, Watha!"
Keeps on boozing, gets more sullen
Falls across the bar unconscious.

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