Here’s the French poem Le Thé (Tea) by Théodore de Banville with an mp3 recording.  After the poem you’ll find an English translation.

MP3 of Le Thé

Le Thé

Miss Ellen, versez-moi le Thé
Dans la belle tasse chinoise,
Où des poissons d’or cherchent noise
Au monstre rose épouvanté.

Là, sous un ciel rouge irrité,
Une dame fière et sournoise
Montre en ses longs yeux de turquoise
L’extase et la naïveté :
Miss Ellen, versez-moi le Thé.

Tea

Miss Ellen, pour me tea
In the beautiful Chinese cup
Where the goldfish pick a fight
With the terrified rose monster.

There, under a flaming red sky,
A proud and sly lady
Shows in her ​​wide turquoise eyes
Ecstasy and innocence:
Miss Ellen, pour me tea.

*Chimeras are either mythological monsters or fish.

Enjoy!

Mama Lisa

MP3 of The Wind

2nd MP3 of The Wind

The Wind

I saw you toss the kites on high

And blow the birds about the sky;

And all around I heard you pass,

Like ladies’ skirts across the grass–

O wind, a-blowing all day long,

O wind, that sings so loud a song!

I saw the different things you did,

But always you yourself you hid.

I felt you push, I heard you call,

I could not see yourself at all–

O wind, a-blowing all day long,

O wind, that sings so loud a song!

O you that are so strong and cold,

O blower, are you young or old?

Are you a beast of field and tree,

Or just a stronger child than me?

O wind, a-blowing all day long,

O wind, that sings so loud a song!

1st Recording by Ezwa.
2nd Recording by Krull.

Many thanks to Oscar Teliz for pointing out this poem!

-Mama Lisa

Here’s a little poem about clouds by Christina Rossetti.

MP3 of the Poem "Clouds"

Clouds

by Christina Rossetti

White sheep, white sheep,
On a blue hill,
When the wind stops
You all stand still
When the wind blows
You walk away slow.
White sheep, white sheep,
Where do you go?

MP3 of Hope is the thing with feathers

"Hope" is the thing with feathers
By Emily Dickinson

"Hope" is the thing with feathers-
That perches in the soul-
And sings the tune without the words-
And never stops-at all-

And sweetest-in the Gale-is heard-
And sore must be the storm-
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm-

I’ve heard it in the chillest land-
And on the strangest Sea-
Yet, never, in Extremity,
It asked a crumb-of Me.

Read by Halle Kill

The Stormy Cold March Days

Ho! for the stormy cold March days,
Aye! There is nothing like them.
Loud let us shout and sing their praise
March is so proud and free.
Snowy, blowy, wheezy, breezy,
Sweeping up the winter’s snow,
Freezing, pleasing, teasing unceasing.
So do the March winds blow.

The leprechaun is a fairy shoemaker eagerly sought by people who like to get rich quick. If the mortal who meets him will only keep his eyes fixed upon the fairy, the little chap will have to disclose the hiding place of a certain crock of gold. But the leprechaun is so full of tricks to make people look away from him, that few of those who have met him have got rich at his expense.

Here’s a poem about this tricksy little guy….

The Leprechaun
By Denis Aloysius McCarthy
 

O summer is the time to see the little leprechaun;

He haunts the Irish hedges at the very peep o’ dawn;

You hear a little hammer going rap-a-tap-a-tap —

And then you know he’s close at hand, the foxy fairy chap.

And, faith, the little leprechaun has knowledge of a place

Where lies a crock o’ fairy gold — the hoarding of his race;

And, if you keep your eye on him, you have him in your power,

And he must tell you where ’tis hid, that golden fairy dower.

But, ah! beware the leprechaun, for he has tricks to blind,

And if you look away from him he’ll vanish like the wind.

And sure ’tis I that know it, for I flung away my chance

Of ever being wealthy by one fatal, fleeting glance.

For once at early morning, ere the sun had drunk the dew,

I came upon the leprechaun at work upon a shoe;

At work upon a fairy shoe, the crabbed little elf,

And, O, so very busy that he didn’t see myself.

"Good morning to your honor, sir," all flustered like, I said.

"Good morning kindly, sir," said he, and hardly raised his head.

‘Twas coolly he replied to me, betraying no surprise;

In fact, I thought I saw a roguish twinkle in his eyes.

"Tis early you are up," said I, not knowing what to say.

"Ah, yes," said he, "but that’s because I’m rather rushed to-day.

But, though I rise so early, yet I honestly declare

I’m never up so early as my neighbor over there."

With that he jerked his head a bit, and, thinking to behold

Another fairy cobbler with another crock of gold,

I looked away a moment — in that moment he was gone,

And vanished all my fortune with the tricksy leprechaun!

Many thanks to Gracie Gralike for sharing her Leprechaun drawing!

The Leprechaun,—the omadhaun*!—that lives in County Clare,

Is one foot wide and three foot high without an inch to spare.

He winks the sea-blue eye of him, like other saucy rogues,

And underneath the blackthorn-bush he sits to clout his brogues.

Then, if you catch the Leprechaun and never loose your hold,

He’s bound to show you where he’s hid a pot of yellow gold,

And give you, too, a fairy purse with tassels down the end,

That’s never bare, but always full, no matter what you spend.

‘Tis I would catch the Leprechaun;—and then what would I do?

I’d take the yellow gold, machree**, and give it all to you!

*An Omadhaun is a simpleton or fool (Irish word)
**Machree means "my dear" in Irish English.

MP3 of the Poem Old Winter

Old Winter
By Thomas Noel

Old Winter sad and snowy clad,

Is making a doleful din;

But let him howl till he cracks his jowl,

We will not let him in.

Let him gnaw, forsooth, with his freezing tooth,

On our roof-tiles, till he tire;

But we care not a whit, as we jovial sit

Before the blazing fire.

Here’s a colorful poem by Emily Dickinson with an mp3 recording…

MP3 of She sweeps with many-colored Brooms

She sweeps with many-colored Brooms

She sweeps with many-colored Brooms–

And leaves the Shreds behind–

Oh Housewife in the Evening West–

Come back, and dust the Pond!

You dropped a Purple Ravelling in–

You dropped an Amber thread–

And now you’ve littered all the east

With Duds of Emerald!

And still she plies her spotted Brooms,

And still the Aprons fly,

Till Brooms fade softly into stars–

And then I come away–

Read by Jannie Meisberger

Leprechauns are known to be shoemakers.  At the end of the work day, they hide away the money they earned in a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

Song of The Leprechaun or Fairy Shoemaker is a perfect poem for St. Patrick’s Day.  You can hear it sung in the mp3 below.

MP3 of Song of the Leprechaun

Song of The Leprechaun or

Fairy Shoemaker

Tip-tap, rip-rap,

Tick-a- tack-too!

Scarlet leather, sewn together,

This will make a shoe.

Left, right, pull it tight;

Summer days are warm;

Underground in Winter.

Laughing at the storm!

Big boots a-hunting,

Sandals in the hall,

White for a wedding-feast.

Pink for a ball.

This way, that way.

So we make a shoe;

Getting rich every stitch,

Tick-a-tack-too!

Rip-rap, tip-tap,

Tick-a-tack-too!

(A grasshopper on my cap!

Away the moth flew!)

Buskins for a Fairy Prince,

Brogues for his son, —

Pay me well, pay me well.

When the job is done!

Sung by Julia Niedermaier.

Enjoy!

Mama Lisa

MP3 of Love Is Enough

Love Is Enough
By William Morris

Love is enough: though the World be a-waning,
And the woods have no voice but the voice of complaining,
Though the sky be too dark for dim eyes to discover
The gold-cups and daisies fair blooming thereunder,
Though the hills be held shadows, and the sea a dark wonder,
And this day draw a veil over all deeds pass’d over,
Yet their hands shall not tremble, their feet shall not falter;
The void shall not weary, the fear shall not alter
These lips and these eyes of the loved and the lover.

Read by: Hugh McGuire

MP3 of Poet to His Love

2nd Recording of Poet to His Love

Poet to His Love

An old silver church in a forest
Is my love for you.
The trees around it
Are words that I have stolen from your heart.
An old silver bell, the last smile you gave,
Hangs at the top of my church.
It rings only when you come through the forest
And stand beside it.
And then, it has no need for ringing,
For your voice takes its place.

1st recording read by: Linton
2nd recording by: Nocturna

MP3 of Jenny kiss’d Me

Jenny kiss’d Me
By Leigh Hunt

Jenny kiss’d me when we met,
Jumping from the chair she sat in;
Time, you thief, who love to get
Sweets into your list, put that in!
Say I’m weary, say I’m sad,
Say that health and wealth have miss’d me,
Say I’m growing old, but add,
Jenny kiss’d me.

Read by: Robert Beach

Drawing by: Jason Pomerantz

Snow is in the air!  Here’s a poem called, "Snow in the Suburbs" by Thomas Hardy with an mp3 recording.  

Enjoy!

Mama Lisa

MP3 of Snow in the Suburbs

Snow in the Suburbs

Every branch big with it,
Bent every twig with it;
Every fork like a white web-foot;
Every street and pavement mute:
Some flakes have lost their way, and grope back upward when
Meeting those meandering down they turn and descend again.
The palings are glued together like a wall,
And there is no waft of wind with the fleecy fall.

A sparrow enters the tree,
Whereon immediately
A snow-lump thrice his own slight size
Descends on him and showers his head and eye
And overturns him,
And near inurns him,
And lights on a nether twig, when its brush
Starts off a volley of other lodging lumps with a rush.

The steps are a blanched slope,
Up which, with feeble hope,
A black cat comes, wide-eyed and thin;
And we take him in.

Read by John Nixon.

Hey I love your site! My grandmother, from Scotland, would always recite a poem to me about a chick hatching from an egg….”3 weeks I lived inside that egg, slowly, slowly getting bigger every day”. 

I cannot find any mention of it anywhere on the internet, please help?

Thank you,

Melissa O’Leary

If anyone can help with this poem, please let us know in the comments below.

Thanks!

Mama Lisa

It’s believed he coined the proverb "If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again":

‘Tis a lesson you should heed–
Try, try, try again;
If at first you don’t succeed,
Try, try, try again.

The proverb seems to come directly from the poem "Try Again".  Here’s the poem with an mp3 recording.  Please note that some versions have "try again" as, "try, try again", or as "try, try, try again".

MP3 of Try Again

Try Again
By William Hickson,

‘Tis a lesson you should heed–
            Try again;
If at first you don’t succeed,
            Try again.
Then your courage should appear;
For if you will persevere,
You will conquer, never fear,
            Try again.

Once or twice though you should fail,
If you would at last prevail,
            Try again.
If we strive, ’tis no disgrace
Though we did not win the race–
What should you do in that case?
            Try again.

If you find your task is hard.
            Try again;
Time will bring you your reward,
            Try again;
All that other folk can do,
Why with patience should not you?
Only keep this rule in view,
            Try again.

Recited by Lila Pomerantz.

Wandrers Nachtlied

Here you can read the original poem and listen to an mp3 recording.  After that, you’ll find a modern English translation, followed by a well-known translation from the 1800’s by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  Then you can watch a video performance of the poem being sung in an arrangement by Schubert.

MP3 of Wandrers Nachtlied

Wandrers Nachtlied
(German)

Über allen Gipfeln
Ist Ruh,
In allen Wipfeln
Spürest du
Kaum einen Hauch;
Die Vögelein schweigen im Walde.
Warte nur, balde
Ruhest du auch.

Poem recited by Raphael.

Here’s a modern English Translation (by Lisa):

Wanderer’s Nightsong

Over all mountaintops
Is peace,
In all treetops
You sense
Barely a breath;
The little birds are silent in the woods.
Just wait, soon
You will rest too.

Here’s a translation by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1845):

Wanderer’s Nightsong

O’er all the hilltops
Is quiet now,
In all the treetops
Hearest thou
Hardly a breath;
The birds are asleep in the trees:
Wait, soon like these
Thou too shalt rest.

Wandrers Nachtlied was set to music by Schubert.  Here is a performance of it from YouTube.  (The lyrics are performed in a slightly different order in this performance.  Below you can read the order of the lyrics as sung in the video.)

Here is the order of the lyrics in the vocal rendition:

Über allen Gipfeln
Ist Ruh,
In allen Wipfeln
Spürest du
Kaum einen Hauch;
Die Vögelein schweigen,
Schweigen im Walde.
Warte nur, warte nur, balde
Ruhest du auch.
Warte nur, warte nur, balde
Ruhest du auch.

May we find a sense of comfort in music and art.

Mama Lisa

MP3 of Twinkling Bugs 
(Recording of 1st & 3rd Verses)

Twinkling Bugs

When the sun sinks under the world’s red rim,
And the river fades till its shores are dim.
And the trees are dark where the shadows lie,
  Then they go by,
    By,
      By–
The twinkling bugs go by.

They trim their lamps through the daylight hours,
For each bug rubs and rubs and scours,
To have his bright as the stars in the sky.
  When they go by,
    By,
      By–
The twinkling bugs go by.

They hide so well through the whole long day.
You never can find one, search as you may;
You never need look, till fades the sky
  Then they go by.
    By,
      By–
The twinkling bugs go by.

Here’s the poem, An Explanation Of The Grasshopper by American poet, Vachell Lindsay (1879 – 1931). You can listen to an mp3 recording of it below.  Note that a Brownie is an elf who secretly helps with chores in the middle of the night. I need one of those.

MP3 of An Explanation of the Grasshopper

The Grasshopper, the Grasshopper, 
I will explain to you: --
He is the Brownies' racehorse. 
The fairies Kangaroo!

Read by Verity Kendall.

MP3 of The Wonderful World

The Wonderful 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 dressed.

Recording by Emily Jones.