For this, my third year doing the challenge, I am going literary. For every letter of the alphabet I will talk about a book, an author or a character from fiction or myth that made an impression, was inspirational, or caused me to think.
Did you know that one of A. A. (Alan Alexander) Milne's teachers during his public school days was H. G. Wells? I didn't....
Everyone knows about Pooh, Piglet, and Eeyore. Kanga, Owl, and Rabbit. Roo, Tigger, and the 100 Aker Wood. But how many of you are familiar with Milne's poems from his books When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six?
I love them all. A few of my favorites are: Disobedience, The Knight Whose Armour Didn't Squeak, Independence, The King's Breakfast, Jonathan Jo.
When I was first learning to teach myself to play guitar,(back when I was 13 or 14) the very first melody I ever wrote was to...
Vespers.
Little Boy kneels at the foot of the bed,
Droops on little hands little gold head.
Hush! Hush! Whisper who dares!
Christopher Robin is saying his prayers.
God bless Mummy. I know that's right.
Wasn't it fun in the bath tonight?
The cold's so cold, and the hot's so hot.
Oh! God bless Daddy -- I quite forgot.
If I open my fingers a little bit more,
I can see Nanny's dressing-gown on the door.
It's a beautiful blue, but it hasn't a hood.
Oh! God bless Nanny and make her good.
Mine has a hood, and I lie in bed,
And pull the hood right over my head,
And I shut my eyes, and curl up small,
And nobody knows that I'm there at all.
Oh! Thank you, God, for a lovely day.
But what was the other I had to say?
I said "Bless Daddy," so what could it be?
Oh! Now I remember. God bless me.
Little Boy kneels at the foot of the bed,
Droops on little hands little gold head.
Hush! Hush! Whisper who dares!
Christopher Robin is saying his prayers.
It remains my favorite poem. And I still remember the melody I put to it.
Do you have a favorite Milne poem?
M is A. A. Milne Other M influences: The Man in the Iron Mask, George MacDonald, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh
I didn't know he wrote poetry! I love Vespers.
ReplyDeleteThat's lovely! Like Talli, I didn't realize he wrote poetry, too. How fun is that?
ReplyDeleteI love that poem! It is beautiful. I'm impressed you wrote a melody for it at such a young age. There's a songwriter who sings Milne's poems too.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was one,
I had just begun.
When I was Two,
I was nearly new.
When I was three,
I was hardly me.
When I was four,
I was not much more.
When I was five,
I was just alive.
Great M Bish! :-)
I loved all his books when I was little...haven't read any of them in years. Thanks for a great post.
ReplyDeleteThis brought on a nostalgia attack...
ReplyDeleteLook forward to the rest of your challenge run…can’t believe we’ve had 14 days already!
--Damyanti, Co-host A to Z Challenge April 2012
Twitter: @AprilA2Z
#atozchallenge
Great poem.
ReplyDeleteI clicked on the link. I can't believe I've never read him before.
Robyn took my favorite, but I love the one you shared, too. I didn't know H.G. Wells was Milne's teacher!
ReplyDeleteHi Bish .. what a great post about Christopher Robin .. the boy who influenced so many of us .. thanks for posting .. fun read - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteBish, that's the only one of his poems I 'knew'. I just didn't know it was Vespers.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post. I had no idea about the poetry. Vespers was very nice, but I had to go and read Disobedience also. Love it.
ReplyDeleteWhen I came back here toyour space, I'm thinking how did I miss that you are from the VI. A to Z is turning me into an even bigger dumb blonde than normal. It takes so much time, that I find myself in TOO much of a hurry.
I love everything about A. A. Milne, but I gotta give it to Eeyore.He's just so cute.
ReplyDeleteLove, Love, LOVE A.A. Milne...so I of course think it's a phenomenal "M" word...I too have read all those books, poems and stories and was so blessed when my son grew up loving him as well :) Lovely post today Bish!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know he was an Alexander!
ReplyDeleteYou were a guitar prodigy. So meaningful to learn to play an instrument when young.
ReplyDeleteI read Pooh stories to my kids. They probably weren't written when I was young. So I enjoyed reading to them.
No, I did not know H.G. Wells was Milne's teacher.
Now my mind is racing, wondering what ideas Wells put into the minds of children.
Have an eventful weekend.
I love The Man In The Iron Mask - what a story!
ReplyDeleteVisiting from the A to Z challenge. Nice to meet you *waves*
You have just rocketed me back to the third floor bedroom where I was exiled to take a nap by my mother, when I was really too old for naps. There as a page worn copy of When We Were Very Young up there. I spent a lot of time with that book! I LOVE this poem!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know he wrote poetry, but with two children I am well aware of Pooh and friends and love them!
ReplyDeleteI'm learning new stuff from you every time I visit.
ReplyDeleteHG Wells was one of Milne's teachers? Oh such a cool fact I didn't know.
ReplyDelete