Oh, Timballoo! How Happy We Are

    "Oh, Timballoo! how happy we are,
    We live in a sieve and a crockery jar!
    And all night long, in the starlight pale,
    We sail away, with a pea-green sail,
    And whistle and warble a moony song
    To the echoing sound of a coppery gong.
    Far and few, far and few
    Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
    Their heads are green, and their hands are blue,
    And they went to sea in a sieve."

Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist and poet best known as the author of the novel 'Little Women' and its sequels 'Little Men' and 'Jo's Boys.' Born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, she grew up in Massachusetts. She was an abolitionist and a feminist and was active in both the Transcendentalist and suffragist movements. Alcott began writing to support her family and went on to publish numerous works that have had a lasting impact on American literature.

Louisa May Alcott

A Song From The Suds

Louisa May Alcott, Simple Poetry

I Slept, And Dreamed That Life Was Beauty

Louisa May Alcott, Simple Poetry

Fragments from "The Mysterious Key And What It Opened"

Louisa May Alcott, Simple Poetry

Morning Song Of The Bees

Louisa May Alcott, 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.

The Jumblies.



    I.

They went to sea in a sieve, they did;
In a sieve they went to sea:
In spite of all their friends could say,
On a winter's morn, on a stormy day,
In a sieve they went to sea.
And when the sieve turned round and round,
And every one cried, "You'll all be drowned!"
They called aloud, "Our sieve ain't big;
But we don't care a button, we don't care a fig:
In a sieve we'll go to sea!"
Far and few, far and few,
Are the lands where the Jumblies live:
Their heads are green, and their hands are blue
And they went to sea in a sieve.


    II.

They sailed away in a sieve, they did,
In a sieve they sailed so fast,
With only a beautiful pea-green veil
Tied with a ribbon, by way ...

Edward Lear

Hello! Hello!

    "Hello! hello!
    Come down below,--
    It's lovely and cool
    Out here in the pool;
    On a lily-pad float
    For a nice green boat.
    Here we sit and sing
    In a pleasant ring;
    Or leap frog play,
    In the jolliest way.
    Our games have begun,
    Come join in the fun."

Louisa May Alcott

The Blue-Bells On The Lea.

FAIRY KING.


"The breeze is on the Blue-bells,
The wind is on the lea;
Stay out! stay out! my little lad,
And chase the wind with me.
If you will give yourself to me,
Within the fairy ring,
At deep midnight,
When stars are bright,
You'll hear the Blue-bells ring--
D!
DI! DIN!
DING!
On slender stems they swing.

"The rustling wind, the whistling wind,
We'll chase him to and fro,
We'll chase him up, we'll chase him down
To where the King-cups grow;
And where old Jack-o'-Lantern waits
To light us on our way,
And far behind,
Upon the wind,
The Blue-bells seem to play--
D!
DI! DIN!
DING!
Lest we should go astray.

"So gay that fairy music,
So jubilant those bells,
How days and wee...

Juliana Horatia Ewing

From Our Happy Home

    From our happy home
    Through the world we roam
    One week in all the year,
    Making winter spring
    With the joy we bring,
    For Christmas-tide is here.


    Now the eastern star
    Shines from afar
    To light the poorest home;
    Hearts warmer grow,
    Gifts freely flow,
    For Christmas-tide has come.


    Now gay trees rise
    Before young eyes,
    Abloom with tempting cheer;
    Blithe voices sing,
    And blithe bells ring,
    For Christmas-tide is here.


    Oh, happy chime,
    Oh, blessed time,
    That draws us all so near!
    "Welcome, dear day,"
    All creatures say,
    For Christmas-tide is here.

Louisa May Alcott

In The Garret

    Four little chests all in a row,
    Dim with dust, and worn by time,
    All fashioned and filled, long ago,
    By children now in their prime.
    Four little keys hung side by side,
    With faded ribbons, brave and gay
    When fastened there, with childish pride,
    Long ago, on a rainy day.
    Four little names, one on each lid,
    Carved out by a boyish hand,
    And underneath there lieth hid
    Histories of the happy band
    Once playing here, and pausing oft
    To hear the sweet refrain,
    That came and went on the roof aloft,
    In the falling summer rain.


    "Meg" on the first lid, smooth and fair.
    I look in with loving eyes,
    For folded here, with well-known care,
    A goodly gathering lies,
 ...

Louisa May Alcott

To Five.

Six of us once, my darlings, played together
Beneath green boughs, which faded long ago,
Made merry in the golden summer weather,
Pelted each other with new-fallen snow.

Did the sun always shine? I can't remember
A single cloud that dimmed the happy blue,--
A single lightning-bolt or peal of thunder,
To daunt our bright, unfearing lives: can you?

We quarrelled often, but made peace as quickly,
Shed many tears, but laughed the while they fell,
Had our small woes, our childish bumps and bruises,
But Mother always "kissed and made them well."

Is it long since?--it seems a moment only:
Yet here we are in bonnets and tail-coats,
Grave men of business, members of committees,
Our play-time ended: even Baby votes!

And star-eyed children, in who...

Susan Coolidge