Jun 2, 2016

POETRY FRIDAY: The Swing by Robert Louis Stevenson

Thanks to Jone at Check it Out for hosting Poetry Friday this week!
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Life has been on fast forward since I last posted—the many activities of May swooped down and pecked up the minutes, and the days flew by. School is out now and my boys and I are settling in for a nice, long, slow summer.

For my jump back into Poetry Friday this week, I decided to share one of my favorite summer poems. Swinging was one of my favorite things to do as a child, and The Swing by Robert Louis Stevenson captures every bit of the free-flying feeling that I remember so well.

The Swing
by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)

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!



Unfortunately, I won’t be doing much swinging this summer; last weekend on the first night of a long-planned camping trip to the D.C. area, I stepped in a hole and ended up in the ER. My husband and boys refused to go into the city without me, so we came home the next day. Now I am relegated to a nice, comfy chair for the next several weeks, and am looking forward to having more focused writing time than I've had in a long time (yes, I am desperately searching for the silver lining here!).

Wishing you all a happy (and safe) summer!