Nonsense Poems

[AB Editor]

What's your favourite nonsense poem? I like the Jabberwocky.

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.


"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought --
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
He chortled in his joy.

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

I wondered, besides Caroll, who is a good source of Nonsense Poems? I also wondered if there is a well known collection of English nonsense poems for kids?

[Frank97]

Here you go, Cupid.

I

The Pobble who has no toes
Had once as many as we;
When they said, 'Some day you may lose them all;'--
He replied, -- 'Fish fiddle de-dee!'
And his Aunt Jobiska made him drink,
Lavender water tinged with pink,
For she said, 'The World in general knows
There's nothing so good for a Pobble's toes!'



II

The Pobble who has no toes,
Swam across the Bristol Channel;
But before he set out he wrapped his nose,
In a piece of scarlet flannel.
For his Aunt Jobiska said, 'No harm
'Can come to his toes if his nose is warm;
'And it's perfectly known that a Pobble's toes
'Are safe, -- provided he minds his nose.'



III

The Pobble swam fast and well
And when boats or ships came near him
He tinkedly-binkledy-winkled a bell
So that all the world could hear him.
And all the Sailors and Admirals cried,
When they saw him nearing the further side,--
'He has gone to fish, for his Aunt Jobiska's
'Runcible Cat with crimson whiskers!'



IV

But before he touched the shore,
The shore of the Bristol Channel,
A sea-green Porpoise carried away
His wrapper of scarlet flannel.
And when he came to observe his feet
Formerly garnished with toes so neat
His face at once became forlorn
On perceiving that all his toes were gone!



V

And nobody ever knew
From that dark day to the present,
Whoso had taken the Pobble's toes,
In a manner so far from pleasant.
Whether the shrimps or crawfish gray,
Or crafty Mermaids stole them away --
Nobody knew; and nobody knows
How the Pebble was robbed of his twice five toes!



VI

The Pobble who has no toes
Was placed in a friendly Bark,
And they rowed him back, and carried him up,
To his Aunt Jobiska's Park.
And she made him a feast at his earnest wish
Of eggs and buttercups fried with fish;--
And she said,-- 'It's a fact the whole world knows,
'That Pebbles are happier without their toes.'

[jno]

Tilly, according to the Opies, Goosey Goosey Gander is two separate rhymes of four lines that have somehow become attached. The second four usually began "Daddy-Long-Legs..."

PS Ed, the Opies' book is a collection of nursery rhymes but also an encyclopedia of their derivation, and pretty interestting

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[boingo]

I'm with you Tilly2 and Frank97 - S.P. every time!

[boingo]

I meant 'S.M.'!

[Kiki-frog]

Or what about Ogden Nash? As a child I loved his anthology called 'The Golden Trashery of Ogden Nashery'.

The song of canaries
Never varies
And when they're moulting
They're pretty revolting

[Tilly2]

Yes, jno. I have the Opie's book.

Things that go bump inthe night
Should not really give one a fright
It's the hole in each ear
That lets in the fear
That, and the absence of light!

Spike Milligan

[maggiebee]

Steven G, thank you for that - I've only ever heard verse 1 but now I'll be able to tell my grandchildren the whole poem.

[AlwaysConfused]

Spike Milligan:

I've never saw a Purple Cow,
I never hope to see one;
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one.

Followed up by a later poem:

Ah, yes, I wrote the "Purple Cow"—
I'm Sorry, now, I wrote it;
But I can tell you Anyhow
I'll Kill you if you Quote it!

[cupid04]

thank you Frank. Didn't realise there were so many verses.

[AlwaysConfused]

I'm not sure it was Spike Milligan who wrote Purple cow, but I remember hearing him reading it!

[EcclesCake]

Thank you Stephen, the first verse has been with me for many a year but I've never encountered further verses!

[albaqwerty]

loved S.M.

2 which I remember from childhood, probably from the pen of Anon who was busy

I eat my peas with honey
I've done so all my life
It makes the peas taste funny
but it keeps them on the knife.

and

'Twas in the month of Liverpool
In the city of July,
The rain was snowing heavily
and the streets were very dry.

[Tilly2]

Oh, jno. My' ^nonsense'was not directed at you!
I was correcting my earlier mistake where I wrote ,'nonesense'

[jno]

AlwaysConfused, that was long before Spike: written by Gelett Burgess in the 1800s

[maggiebee]

Teddy on the railway
Picking up stones
Along came an engine
And broke teddy's bones
"Oh" said teddy "that's not fair"
"Oh said the engine man "you shouldn't be there"

[jno]

ah, ok, Tilly, I thought you'd had a most uncharacteristic attack of impolititude

[Kiki-frog]

The elephant is a bonny bird.
It flits from bough to bough.
It nestles in the rhubarb tree
And whistles like a cow

is another I vaguely remember. No idea who wrote it though

[AB Editor]

Stephen_G - what is that? My grandfather used to wing that with me. It's excellent.

[AlwaysConfused]

cheers jno. I'll have to check his other poems, Purple cow is my favorite!

[albaqwerty]

Kiki, I remember that one too!