Sunday, May 29



When I was in elementary school, we were required to memorize a poem each week. Today when I was visiting Hootin' Anni, the title of her post reminded me of one of those poems.

My Shadow
by Robert Louis Stevenson

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.

The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow--
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball,
And he sometimes goes so little that there's none of him at all.

He hasn't got a notion of how children ought to play,
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close behind me, he's a coward you can see;
I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!

One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.

I hope you enjoyed it. Possibly it even brought back a memory of your school days.

4 comments:

  1. I so remember this!! It's amazing isn't it? When something from someone else will trigger a memory such as this?!!

    I too am happy to see that you're back!! You've been terribly missed.

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  2. Glad you are back bloggin. I liked RLS and Frost in school. The old Don Jail was most interesting. Thanks for sharing. Peace

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  3. Oh, my goodness, this brought back a huge memory. I was taking a children's lit course for my elementary ed classes. We had to do a poetry file for use in our teaching someday. We had to read a poem with music that matched the rhythm of the poem. I chose The Shadow - I absolutely love that poem!

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  4. Your poem brought back memories of my Mom. He was one of her favorite authors. :) Thanks!

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