FERN HILL
by Dylan Thomas
Now as I was young and easy under the apple boughs
About the lilting house and happy as the grass was green,
The night above the dingle starry,
Time let me hail and climb
Golden in the heydays of his eyes,
And honoured among wagons I was prince of the apple towns
And once below a time I lordly had the trees and leaves
Trail with daisies and barley
Down the rivers of the windfall light.
And as I was green and carefree, famous among the barns
About the happy yard and singing as the farm was home,
In the sun that is young once only,
Time let me play and be
Golden in the mercy of his means,
And green and golden I was huntsman and herdsman, the calves
Sang to my horn, the foxes on the hills barked clear and cold,
And the sabbath rang slowly
In the pebbles of the holy streams.
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read the rest)
THE LAKE ISLE OF INNISFREEby William Butler Yeats
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.

Ooh, glad I got mine last year!!! We will NOT be giving ours away either :) It's SO good!
Posted by: Meredith | December 15, 2007 at 02:05 PM
Unfortunately, $60 for a book is not in the Christmas budget. Maybe next year!
P.S. It might snow tonight!!!
Posted by: Activities Coordinator | December 15, 2007 at 06:58 PM
We were fortunate enough to find a reasonably priced copy online last year. Don't ask me HOW as I am in no way a savvy shopper, but in the end it doesn't matter. The kids and I can now cozy up with Mrs. Peterson and her Hanna...
...every single Advent.
PS. Isn't it fun to do the voice for that grumpy tomten?
Posted by: Margaret in Minnesota | December 16, 2007 at 04:29 AM
I happened upon Hanna at my local library in Lafayette, Colorado last week. What a wonderful surprise since I was collecting picture books for our geography unit on Europe. My daughter's loved it and want to make St. Lucia dresses and crowns for their dolls now.
Posted by: Michelle | December 23, 2007 at 04:38 PM