Gateway to the Classics: Oxford Book of English Verse, Part 2 by Arthur Quiller-Couch
 
Oxford Book of English Verse, Part 2 by  Arthur Quiller-Couch

Spring and Winter: Second Part

When icicles hang by the wall,

And Dick the shepherd blows his nail,

And Tom bears logs into the hall,

And milk comes frozen home in pail,

When blood is nipp'd, and ways be foul,

Then nightly sings the staring owl,

To-whit!

To-who!—a merry note,

While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.


When all aloud the wind doth blow,

And coughing drowns the parson's saw,

And birds sit brooding in the snow,

And Marian's nose looks red and raw,

When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl,

Then nightly sings the staring owl,

To-whit!

To-who!—a merry note,

While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.

— William Shakespeare
1564-1616   


 Table of Contents  |  Index  |  Home  | Previous: Spring and Winter: First Part  |  Next: Fairy Land I
Copyright (c) 2005 - 2023   Yesterday's Classics, LLC. All Rights Reserved.