Nonsense Verse - Page 4


© Suzanne Hill
Page 4
Miss Emily Toastwater by Edward Gorey
And all were as happy as happy could be,
With the Quangle Wangle Quee.


Here's Edward Lear's nonsense poem The Dong with a Luminous Nose, where we encounter The Jumblies:

When awful darkness and silence reign
Over the great Gromboolian plain,
Through the long, long wintry nights; --
When the angry breakers roar
As they beat on the rocky shore; --
When Storm-clouds brood on the towering heights
Of the Hills of the Chankly Bore: --

Then, through the vast and gloomy dark,
There moves what seems a fiery spark,
A lonely spark with silvery rays
Piercing the coal-black night, --
A Meteor strange and bright: --
Hither and thither the vision strays,
A single lurid light.

Slowly it wander, -- pauses, -- creeps, --
Anon it sparkles, -- flashes and leaps;
And ever as onward it gleaming goes
A light on the Bong-tree stems it throws.
And those who watch at that midnight hour
From Hall or Terrace, or lofty Tower,
Cry, as the wild light passes along, --
"The Dong! -- the Dong!
"The wandering Dong through the forest goes!
"The Dong! the Dong!
"The Dong with a luminous Nose!"

Long years ago
The Dong was happy and gay,
Till he fell in love with a Jumbly Girl
Who came to those shores one day.
For the Jumblies came in a sieve, they did, --
Landing at eve near the Zemmery Fidd
Where the Oblong Oysters grow,
And the rocks are smooth and gray.
And all the woods and the valleys rang
With the Chorus they daily and nightly sang, --
"Far and few, far and few,
Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
Their heads are green, and the hands are blue
And they went to sea in a sieve.


Happily, happily passed those days!
While the cheerful Jumblies staid;
They danced in circlets all night long,
To the plaintive pipe of the lively Dong,
In moonlight, shine, or shade.
For day and night he was always there
By the side of the Jumbly Girl so fair,
With her sky-blue hands, and her sea-green hair.
Till the morning came of that hateful day
When the Jumblies sailed in their sieve away,
And the Dong was left on the cruel shore
Gazing -- gazing for evermore, --
Ever keeping his weary eyes on
That pea-green sail on the far horizon, --
Singing the Jumbly Chorus still
As he sate all day on the grassy hill, --
"Far and few, far and few,
Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
Their heads are green, and the hands are blue
Miss Emily Toastwater by Edward Gorey
Madame Galoche by Edward Gorey
Bahhumbug by Edward Gorey
Shroud by Edward Gorey
 

Go To Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6


The copyright of the article Nonsense Verse - Page 4 in Illustration/Illumination is owned by . Permission to republish Nonsense Verse - Page 4 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Post this Article to facebook Add this Article to del.icio.us! Digg this Article furl this Article Add this Article to Reddit Add this Article to Technorati Add this Article to Newsvine Add this Article to Windows Live Add this Article to Yahoo Add this Article to StumbleUpon Add this Article to BlinkLists Add this Article to Spurl Add this Article to Google Add this Article to Ask Add this Article to Squidoo


Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: View all related messages

7.   Oct 15, 2002 7:12 AM
In response to message posted by jerrib:

Hi Jerri,
Leave it to me to bring the nonsense to the fore! :o)
Every ...


-- posted by suzannemhill


6.   Oct 13, 2002 7:05 PM
Thanks for bringing a bit of nonsense to the fore.

Hope all's well in your world.


-- posted by jerrib


5.   Oct 7, 2002 2:56 PM
In response to message posted by suzannemhill:

PS--and I simply adore your link to Women Illustrators, which incl ...


-- posted by Dubh_Sidhe


4.   Oct 7, 2002 1:32 PM
In response to message posted by Dubh_Sidhe:

Virginia,
Thanks so much for the kind words. This article was fun! ...


-- posted by suzannemhill


3.   Oct 7, 2002 1:27 PM
In response to message posted by pamela_saint:

Pamela,
I had no idea Gorey's home has been opened as a museum in ...


-- posted by suzannemhill





For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Suzanne Hill's Illustration/Illumination topic, please visit the Discussions page.