"Gather ye rose-buds while ye may." Robert Herrick

"Gather ye rose-buds while ye may." Robert Herrick

Hello Friends!

Friends, Romans, countrymen...y'all. Foodies, gardeners, artists and collectors - let's gather together to share and possibly learn a thing or two in the mix.

Donna Baker

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Swingin' On A Star

For those of us of a certain age, we didn't have so many toys as they do today. Skates, jacks, bicycles, jump ropes and swings were the mainstays of a little girl. Okay, dolls, mainly Barbie. I, myself, loved to swing. The swings I loved back then were so long that you could climb to great heights. I am sure they would be banned today. The fearless child that I was, I would even bail, landing on my feet and occasionally, my poor tailbone. We also spent many an hour reading books, never even having imagined reading them on electronic gadgets. I used to love A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES and the following Robert Louis Stevenson poem.

THE SWING

How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!
Up in the air and over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
Rivers and trees and cattle and all
Over the countryside -
Till I look down on the garden green,
Down on the roof so brown -
Up in the air I go flying again,
Up in the air and down!

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh swinging is the best thing. You did bring back memeories. There are wonderful new swings down at the lake.. safely not too long of course which is a pity, but my sister and I sat side by side on a double swing for ages.. back and forth.. chatting...so lovely

Tess Kincaid said...

I LOVED to swing. It was that flying/air thing. I also adored my jump rope and jacks. Jacks were a big deal in 1965 in my neck of the woods.

trash talk said...

Swinging was the only way to fly! Drove my mother crazy...since I was usually wearing a dress!
Debbie

A Brit in Tennessee said...

My cousin and I had a wooden swing, she used to push me so high I would get dizzy.
In school we always played with two tennis balls up against the school wall, and Chinese skipping, made out of an elastic jump rope, held in place by four sets of feet, and one jumper.
Those were the days my friend ;)

A Wild Thing said...

Boy sister, you opened the flood gates...my wonderful Gramps built me and my brother a swing out of an old model T frame...boy could we climb to the stars and eject ourselves into the wild blue yonder.

Those were the days and I would gladly run back skipping and jumping, a simpler less complex time, before governmental corruption wasn't at it's peak...oh, the days ahead look bleak, as we forge ahead trying to figure out ways to survive from stealing what is rightfully ours back from a system gone mad.

Thanks for giving a glimmer of the past and the smiles! I wouldn't trade those times for anything and am glad I got to live in them, in a way I guess, that's what I strive for at my lil' pink chateau, I'll have to ponder a swing next...ha!

Sunny said...

Oh what memories! I had a swing in a tree when I was a child; every so often it would break...I think I still have the scars! Haha!
Always loved that poem :)
☼ Sunny

Kirsten Steen said...

I still like to swing! When I'm blue I head to the tiny playground in our neighborhood and give my stomach a whirl! Never seen this poem before so thank you for sharing. I'm trying to do a poem a day this month and now feel inspired for today's! Thanks to you.
Kirsten

Mary-Laure said...

Oh this brings back so many wonderful memories!