VI
Block City What are you able to build with your blocks?
Castles and palaces,temples and docks.
Rain may keep raining,and others go roam,But Ican be happy and building at home.
Let the sofa be mountains,the carpet be sea,There I'll establish a city for me:
Akirk and a mill and a palace beside,And a harbour as well where my vessels may ride.
Great is the palace with pillar and wall,Asort of a tower on the top of it all,And steps coming down in an orderly way To where my toy vessels lie safe in the bay.
This one is sailing and that one is moored:
Hark to the song of the sailors aboard!
And see,on the steps of my palace,the kings Coming and going with presents and things!
Yet as Isaw it,Isee it again,The kirk and the palace,the ships and the men,And as long as Ilive and where'er Imay be,I'll always remember my town by the sea.
VII
The Land of Story-books At evening when the lamp is lit,Around the fire my parents sit;
They sit at home and talk and sing,And do not play at anything.
Now,with my little gun,Icrawl All in the dark along the wall,And follow round the forest track Away behind the sofa back.
There,in the night,where none can spy,All in my hunter's camp Ilie,And play at books that Ihave read Till it is time to go to bed.
These are the hills,these are the woods,These are my starry solitudes;
And there the river by whose brink The roaring lions come to drink.
Isee the others far away As if in firelit camp they lay,And I,like to an Indian scout,Around their party prowled about.
So when my nurse comes in for me,Home Ireturn across the sea,And go to bed with backward looks At my dear land of Story-books.
VIII
Armies in the Fire The lamps now glitter down the street;
Faintly sound the falling feet;
And the blue even slowly falls About the garden trees and walls.
Now in the falling of the gloom The red fire paints the empty room:
And warmly on the roof it looks,And flickers on the back of books.
Armies march by tower and spire Of cities blazing,in the fire;——
Till as Igaze with staring eyes,The armies fall,the lustre dies.
Then once again the glow returns;
Again the phantom city burns;
And down the red-hot valley,lo!
The phantom armies marching go!
Blinking embers,tell me true Where are those armies marching to,And what the burning city is That crumbles in your furnaces!
IX
The Little Land When at home alone Isit And am very tired of it,Ihave just to shut my eyes To go sailing through the skies——
To go sailing far away To the pleasant Land of Play;
To the fairy land afar Where the Little People are;
Where the clover-tops are trees,And the rain-pools are the seas,And the leaves,like little ships,Sail about on tiny trips;
And above the Daisy tree Through the grasses,High o'erhead the Bumble Bee Hums and passes.
In that forest to and fro Ican wander,Ican go;
See the spider and the fly,And the ants go marching by,Carrying parcels with their feet Down the green and grassy street.
Ican in the sorrel sit Where the ladybird alit.
Ican climb the jointed grass And on high See the greater swallows pass In the sky,And the round sun rolling by Heeding no such things as I.
Through that forest Ican pass Till,as in a looking-glass,Humming fly and daisy tree And my tiny self Isee,Painted very clear and neat On the rain-pool at my feet.
Should a leaflet come to land Drifting near to where Istand,Straight I'll board that tiny boat Round the rain-pool sea to float.
Little thoughtful creatures sit On the grassy coasts of it;
Little things with lovely eyes See me sailing with surprise.
Some are clad in armour green——
(These have sure to battle been!)——
Some are pied with ev'ry hue,Black and crimson,gold and blue;
Some have wings and swift are gone;——
But they all look kindly on.
When my eyes Ionce again Open,and see all things plain:
High bare walls,great bare floor;
Great big knobs on drawer and door;
Great big people perched on chairs,Stitching tucks and mending tears,Each a hill that Icould climb,And talking nonsense all the time——
Odear me,That Icould be Asailor on a the rain-pool sea,Aclimber in the clover tree,And just come back a sleepy-head,Late at night to go to bed.