Nursery Rhyme. CCCLXXV. Paradoxes.

    My true love lives far from me,
            Perrie, Merrie, Dixie, Dominie.
    Many a rich present he sends to me,
            Petrum, Partrum, Paradise, Temporie,
            Perrie, Merrie, Dixie, Dominie.

    He sent me a goose, without a bone;
    He sent me a cherry, without a stone.
                                                Petrum, & c.

    He sent me a Bible, no man could read;
    He sent me a blanket, without a thread.
                                                Petrum, & c.

    How could there be a goose without a bone?
    How could there be a cherry without a stone?
                                                Petrum, & c.

    How could there be a Bible no man could read?
    How could there be a blanket without a thread?
                                                Petrum, & c.

    When the goose is in the egg-shell, there is no bone;
    When the cherry is in the blossom, there is no stone.
                                                Petrum, & c.

    When ye Bible is in ye press no man it can read;
    When ye wool is on ye sheep's back, there is no thread.
                                                Petrum, & c.

Unknown

The identity of this poet is not known. Their works, which are often of significant historical or cultural value, have been attributed to 'Unknown'. This designation is commonly used when the creator of works, ranging from ancient texts to more modern writings, remains anonymous or uncredited. Despite the lack of personal details, the impact and importance of these works endure, offering insight into the eras and cultures from which they originated.

Unknown

Nursery Rhyme. XLVI. Tales.

Unknown , Simple Poetry

Nursery Rhyme. CCCCLXXXI. Love And Matrimony.

Unknown , Simple Poetry

Recipe for an ingenue:

Unknown , Simple Poetry

Nursery Rhyme. XLIV. Literal

Unknown , Simple Poetry

English

Suggested Poems

Explore a curated selection of verses that share themes, styles, and emotional resonance with the poem you've just read.

Nursery Rhyme. CCCLXIX. Paradoxes.

        [The following occurs in a MS. of the seventeenth century, in the Sloane Collection, the reference to which I have mislaid.]

    The man in the wilderness asked me,
    How many strawberries grew in the sea?
    I answered him, as I thought good,
    As many as red herrings grew in the wood.

Unknown

Nursery Rhyme. CCCLXXIV. Paradoxes.

        [Mind your punctuation!]

    I saw a peacock with a fiery tail,
    I saw a blazing comet drop down hail,
    I saw a cloud wrapped with ivy round,
    I saw an oak creep upon the ground,
    I saw a pismire swallow up a whale,
    I saw the sea brimful of ale,
    I saw a Venice glass full fifteen feet deep,
    I saw a well full of men's tears that weep,
    I saw red eyes all of a flaming fire,
    I saw a house bigger than the moon and higher,
    I saw the sun at twelve o'clock at night,
    I saw the man that saw this wondrous sight.

Unknown

Nursery Rhyme. CCCLXII. Paradoxes.

    O that I was where I would be,
    Then would I be where I am not!
    But where I am must be,
    And where I would be I cannot.

Unknown

Nursery Rhyme. CCCLXX. Paradoxes.

        [The conclusion of the following resembles a verse in the nursery history of Mother Hubbard.]

    There was an old woman, and what do you think?
    She lived upon nothing but victuals and drink:
    Victuals and drink were the chief of her diet;
    This tiresome old woman could never be quiet.

    She went to the baker, to buy her some bread,
    And when she came home her old husband was dead;
    She went to the clerk to toll the bell,
    And when she came back her old husband was well.

Unknown

Nursery Rhyme. CCCLXXVII. Paradoxes.

    I saw a ship a-sailing,
        A-sailing on the sea;
    And, oh! it was all laden
        With pretty things for thee!

    There were comfits in the cabin,
        And apples in the hold;
    The sails were made of silk,
        And the masts were made of gold:

    The four-and-twenty sailors,
        That stood between the decks,
    Were four-and-twenty white mice,
        With chains about their necks.

    The captain was a duck,
        With a packet on his back;
    And when the ship began to move,
        The captain said, "Quack! quack!"

Unknown

Nursery Rhyme. CCCLXV. Paradoxes.

    Up stairs, down stairs, upon my lady's window,
    There I saw a cup of sack and a race of ginger;
    Apples at the fire, and nuts to crack,
    A little boy in the cream-pot up to his neck.

Unknown