WATER THE GARDEN OF YOUR MIND!

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A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES
by Robert Louis Stevenson
published: 1885
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When she was a little girl in Cincinnati, my Mother had a beloved copy of Robert Louis Stevenson's 'A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES'. Many decades later, she shared her love of this poetry with me and my siblings by reading it to us often when we were little. The poem that I most vividly recall her reciting is TIME TO RISE:
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A BIRDIE WITH A YELLOW BILL
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HOPPED UPON MY WINDOW-SILL,
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COCKED HIS SHINING EYE AND SAID:
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"AIN'T YOU 'SHAMED, YOU SLEEPY-HEAD?"
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Most of 'A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES' is a delight sure to please very young children and adults who have an appreciation for wordplay and rhyme.
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Stevenson was a master wordsmith whose integration of imagination and verbal rhythms produced verse that sticks in the mind like styrofoam packing-peanuts stick to a wool shirt. But whereas the packing-peanuts are insanely aggravating, the verse is simply charming. Stevenson was not a Dr. Seuss, but neither was he a quack.
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I have an out-of-print copy of 'A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES', illustrated with nineteenth century woodblock engravings. The illustrations by Tasha Tudor in this volume are very nice, but truth be told, the illustrations in ANY volume are next to superfluous since Stevenson is so adept at painting word-pictures in the mind of the reader.
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'A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES' will transport you back to a time when a bedsheet and a few dining room chairs was all the boat you needed to have rollicking adventures on the high seas! This poetry touches on all of the things so enthralling to little boys and girls:
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Pirates and sailing ships, the seaside, distant stars, toy soldiers, galloping horses, howling dogs, imaginary playmates, the moon, explorers, Indians, swings, fairies and Gameboys are all childhood fascinations that find their way into Stevenson's verse. Well, OK, I lied about the "Gameboys" (just to see if you were paying attention), but that brings up another point. This poetry was composed in 1885, which means that the occasional archaic word or mossy British phrase rears its mysterious head from time to time. I like that; it adds a touch of antique elegance to the garden. But if you're going to be reading this aloud to a kiddie, be prepared to explain lamplighters, grenadiers, balusters, gabies and bogies.
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Back in 2002, my Mom suffered a small stroke, and consequently it was decided that she should move into the house that my Brother and I shared. At nearly 74 years old, she tends to tire easily. Some days she remains in bed and lets a good part of the morning slip away. When that happens, I'll knock softly at her bedroom door and enquire, "AIN'T YOU 'SHAMED, YOU SLEEPY-HEAD?" That always gets her up to start the day. Aren't the Tides Of Life a wonder?
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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