Delphi Complete Poetical Works of Christina Rossetti

by Christina Rossetti

  A ring upon her finger,

  Walks the bride,

  With the bridegroom tall and handsome

  At her side.

  A veil upon her forehead

  Walks the bride,

  With the bridegroom proud and merry

  At her side.

  Fling flowers beneath the footsteps

  Of the bride;

  Fling flowers before the bridegroom

  At her side.

  FERRY ME ACROSS THE WATER

  “Ferry me across the water,

  Do, boatman, do.”

  “If you’ve a penny in your purse

  I’ll ferry you.”

  “I have a penny in my purse,

  And my eyes are blue;

  So ferry me across the water,

  Do, boatman, do.”

  “Step into my ferry-boat,

  Be they black or blue,

  And for the penny in your purse

  I’ll ferry you.”

  WHEN A MOUNTING SKYLARK SINGS

  When a mounting skylark sings

  In the sunlit summer morn,

  I know that heaven is up on high,

  And on earth are fields of corn.

  But when a nightingale sings

  In the moonlit summer even,

  I know not if earth is merely earth,

  Only that heaven is heaven.

  WHO HAS SEEN THE WIND?

  Who has seen the wind?

  Neither I nor you:

  But when the leaves hang trembling

  The wind is passing thro’.

  Who has seen the wind?

  Neither you nor I:

  But when the trees bow down their heads

  The wind is passing by.

  THE HORSES OF THE SEA

  The horses of the sea

  Rear a foaming crest,

  But the horses of the land

  Serve us the best.

  The horses of the land

  Munch corn and clover,

  While the foaming sea-horses

  Toss and turn over.

  O SAILOR, COME ASHORE

  O sailor, come ashore,

  What have you brought for me?

  Red coral, white coral,

  Coral from the sea.

  I did not dig it from the ground,

  Nor pluck it from a tree;

  Feeble insects made it

  In the stormy sea.

  A DIAMOND OR A COAL?

  A diamond or a coal?

  A diamond, if you please:

  Who cares about a clumsy coal

  Beneath the summer trees?

  A diamond or a coal?

  A coal, sir, if you please:

  One comes to care about the coal

  What time the waters freeze.

  AN EMERALD IS AS GREEN AS GRASS

  An emerald is as green as grass;

  A ruby red as blood;

  A sapphire shines as blue as heaven;

  A flint lies in the mud.

  A diamond is a brilliant stone,

  To catch the world’s desire;

  An opal holds a fiery spark;

  But a flint holds fire.

  BOATS SAIL ON THE RIVERS

  Boats sail on the rivers,

  And ships sail on the seas;

  But clouds that sail across the sky

  Are prettier far than these.

  There are bridges on the rivers,

  As pretty as you please;

  But the bow that bridges heaven,

  And overtops the trees,

  And builds a road from earth to sky,

  Is prettier far than these.

  THE LILY HAS A SMOOTH STALK

  The lily has a smooth stalk,

  Will never hurt your hand;

  But the rose upon her briar

  Is lady of the land.

  There’s sweetness in an apple tree,

  And profit in the corn;

  But lady of all beauty

  Is a rose upon a thorn.

  When with moss and honey

  She tips her bending briar,

  And half unfolds her glowing heart,

  She sets the world on fire.

  HURT NO LIVING THING

  Hurt no living thing:

  Ladybird, nor butterfly,

  Nor moth with dusty wing,

  Nor cricket chirping cheerily,

  Nor grasshopper so light of leap,

  Nor dancing gnat, nor beetle fat,

  Nor harmless worms that creep.

  I CAUGHT A LITTLE LADYBIRD

  I caught a little ladybird

  That flies far away;

  I caught a little lady wife

  That is both staid and gay.

  Come back, my scarlet ladybird,

  Back from far away;

  I weary of my dolly wife,

  My wife that cannot play.

  She’s such a senseless wooden thing

  She stares the livelong day;

  Her wig of gold is stiff and cold

  And cannot change to grey.

  ALL THE BELLS WERE RINGING

  All the bells were ringing

  And all the birds were singing,

  When Molly sat down crying

  For her broken doll:

  O you silly Moll!

  Sobbing and sighing

  For a broken doll,

  When all the bells are ringing

  And all the birds are singing.

  WEE WEE HUSBAND

  Wee wee husband,

  Give me some money,

  I have no comfits,

  And I have no honey.

  Wee wee wifie,

  I have no money,

  Milk, nor meat, nor bread to eat,

  Comfits, nor honey.

  I HAVE A LITTLE HUSBAND

  I have a little husband

  And he is gone to sea,

  The winds that whistle round his ship

  Fly home to me.

  The winds that sigh about me

  Return again to him;

  So I would fly, if only I

  Were light of limb.

  THE DEAR OLD WOMAN IN THE LANE

  The dear old woman in the lane

  Is sick and sore with pains and aches,

  We’ll go to her this afternoon,

  And take her tea and eggs and cakes.

  We’ll stop to make the kettle boil,

  And brew some tea, and set the tray,

  And poach an egg, and toast a cake,

  And wheel her chair round, if we may.

  SWIFT AND SURE THE SWALLOW

  Swift and sure the swallow,

  Slow and sure the snail:

  Slow and sure may miss his way,

  Swift and sure may fail.

  I DREAMT I CAUGHT A LITTLE OWL

  “I dreamt I caught a little owl

  And the bird was blue — ”

  “But you may hunt for ever

  And not find such a one.”

  “I dreamt I set a sunflower,

  And red as blood it grew — ”

  “But such a sunflower never

  Bloomed beneath the sun.”

  WHAT DOES THE BEE DO?

  What does the bee do?

  Bring home honey.

  And what does Father do?

  Bring home money.

  And what does Mother do?

  Lay out the money.

  And what does baby do?

  Eat up the honey.

  I HAVE A POLL PARROT

  I have a Poll parrot,

  And Poll is my doll,

  And my nurse is Polly,

  And my sister Poll.

  “Polly!” cried Polly,

  “Don’t tear Polly dolly” —

  While soft-hearted Poll

  Trembled for the doll.

  A HOUSE OF CARDS

  A house of cards

  Is neat and small:

  Shake the table,

  It must fall.

  Find the Cour
t cards

  One by one;

  Raise it, roof it, —

  Now it’s done: —

  Shake the table!

  That’s the fun.

  THE ROSE WITH SUCH A BONNY BLUSH

  The rose with such a bonny blush,

  What has the rose to blush about?

  If it’s the sun that makes her flush,

  What’s in the sun to flush about?

  THE ROSE THAT BLUSHES ROSY RED

  The rose that blushes rosy red,

  She must hang her head;

  The lily that blows spotless white,

  She may stand upright.

  OH, FAIR TO SEE

  Oh, fair to see

  Blossom-laden cherry tree,

  Arrayed in sunny white;

  An April day’s delight,

  Oh, fair to see!

  Oh, fair to see

  Fruit-laden cherry tree,

  With balls of shining red

  Decking a leafy head,

  Oh, fair to see!

  CLEVER LITTLE WILLIE WEE

  Clever little Willie wee,

  Bright-eyed, blue-eyed little fellow;

  Merry little Margery

  With her hair all yellow.

  Little Willie in his heart

  Is a sailor on the sea,

  And he often cons a chart

  With sister Margery.

  THE PEACH TREE ON THE SOUTHERN WALL

  The peach tree on the southern wall

  Has basked so long beneath the sun,

  Her score of peaches great and small

  Bloom rosy, every one.

  A peach for brothers, one for each,

  A peach for you and a peach for me;

  But the biggest, rosiest, downiest peach

  For Grandmamma with her tea.

  A ROSE HAS THORNS AS WELL AS HONEY

  A rose has thorns as well as honey,

  I’ll not have her for love or money;

  An iris grows so straight and fine,

  That she shall be no friend of mine;

  Snowdrops like the snow would chill me;

  Nightshade would caress and kill me;

  Crocus like a spear would fright me;

  Dragon’s-mouth might bark or bite me;

  Convolvulus but blooms to die;

  A wind-flower suggests a sigh;

  Love-lies-bleeding makes me sad;

  And poppy-juice would drive me mad: —

  But give me holly, bold and jolly,

  Honest, prickly, shining holly;

  Pluck me holly leaf and berry

  For the day when I make merry.

  IS THE MOON TIRED? SHE LOOKS SO PALE

  Is the moon tired? she looks so pale

  Within her misty veil:

  She scales the sky from east to west,

  And takes no rest.

  Before the coming of the night

  The moon shows papery white;

  Before the dawning of the day

  She fades away.

  IF STARS DROPPED OUT OF HEAVEN

  If stars dropped out of heaven,

  And if flowers took their place,

  The sky would still look very fair,

  And fair earth’s face.

  Winged angels might fly down to us

  To pluck the stars,

  Be we could only long for flowers

  Beyond the cloudy bars.

  GOODBYE IN FEAR, GOODBYE IN SORROW

  “Goodbye in fear, goodbye in sorrow,

  Goodbye, and all in vain,

  Never to meet again, my dear — ”

  “Never to part again.”

  “Goodbye today, goodbye tomorrow,

  Goodbye till earth shall wane,

  Never to meet again, my dear — ”

  “Never to part again.”

  IF THE SUN COULD TELL US HALF

  If the sun could tell us half

  That he hears and sees,

  Sometimes he would make us laugh,

  Sometimes make us cry:

  Think of all the birds that make

  Homes among the trees;

  Think of cruel boys who take

  Birds that cannot fly.

  IF THE MOON CAME FROM HEAVEN

  If the moon came from heaven,

  Talking all the way,

  What could she have to tell us,

  And what could she say?

  “I’ve seen a hundred pretty things,

  And seen a hundred gay;

  But only think: I peep by night

  And do not peep by day!”

  O LADY MOON, YOUR HORNS POINT TOWARD THE EAST

  O Lady Moon, your horns point toward the east:

  Shine, be increased;

  O Lady Moon, your horns point toward the west:

  Wane, be at rest.

  WHAT DO THE STARS DO

  What do the stars do

  Up in the sky,

  Higher than the wind can blow,

  Or the clouds can fly?

  Each star in its own glory

  Circles, circles still;

  As it was lit to shine and set,

  And do its Maker’s will.

  MOTHERLESS BABY AND BABYLESS MOTHER

  Motherless baby and babyless mother,

  Bring them together to love one another.

  CRIMSON CURTAINS ROUND MY MOTHER’S BED

  Crimson curtains round my mother’s bed,

  Silken soft as may be;

  Cool white curtains round about my bed,

  For I am but a baby.

  BABY LIES SO FAST ASLEEP

  Baby lies so fast asleep

  That we cannot wake her:

  Will the angels clad in white

  Fly from heaven to take her?

  Baby lies so fast asleep

  That no pain can grieve her;

  Put a snowdrop in her hand,

  Kiss her once and leave her.

  I KNOW A BABY, SUCH A BABY

  I know a baby, such a baby, —

  Round blue eyes and cheeks of pink,

  Such an elbow furrowed with dimples,

  Such a wrist where creases sink.

  “Cuddle and love me, cuddle and love me,”

  Crows the mouth of coral pink:

  Oh, the bald head, and, oh, the sweet lips,

  And, oh, the sleepy eyes that wink!

  LULLABY, OH, LULLABY!

  Lullaby, oh, lullaby!

  Flowers are closed and lambs are sleeping;

  Lullaby, oh, lullaby!

  Stars are up, the moon is peeping;

  Lullaby, oh, lullaby!

  While the birds are silence keeping,

  (Lullaby, oh, lullaby!)

  Sleep, my baby, fall a-sleeping,

  Lullaby, oh, lullaby!

  LIE A-BED

  Lie a-bed,

  Sleepy head,

  Shut up eyes, bo-peep;

  Till daybreak

  Never wake: —

  Baby, sleep.

  BROWNIE, BROWNIE, LET DOWN YOUR MILK

  Brownie, Brownie, let down your milk

  White as swansdown and smooth as silk,

  Fresh as dew and pure as snow:

  For I know where the cowslips blow,

  And you shall have a cowslip wreath

  No sweeter scented than your breath.

  STROKE A FLINT, AND THERE IS NOTHING TO ADMIRE

  Stroke a flint, and there is nothing to admire:

  Strike a flint, and forthwith flash out sparks of fire.

  I AM A KING

  I am a King,

  Or an Emperor rather,

  I wear crown-imperial

  And prince’s-feather;

  Golden-rod is the sceptre

  I wield and wag,

  And a broad purple flag-flower

  Waves for my flag.

  Elder the pithy

  With old-man and sage,

  These are my councillors

  Green in old age;

  Lord-and-ladie
s in silence

  Stand round me and wait,

  While gay ragged-robin

  Makes bows at my gate.

  PLAYING AT BOB CHERRY

  Playing at bob cherry

  Tom and Nell and Hugh:

  Cherry bob! cherry bob!

  There’s a bob for you.

  Tom bobs a cherry

  For gaping snapping Hugh,

  While curly-pated Nelly

  Snaps at it too.

  Look, look, look —

  Oh what a sight to see!

  The wind is playing cherry bob

  With the cherry tree.

  BLIND FROM MY BIRTH

  Blind from my birth,

  Where flowers are springing

  I sit on earth

  All dark.

  Hark! hark!

  A lark is singing.