My Father was a great one for quoting little snippets of poems, often leaving me wondering about its origins and why he knew it. I can only guess that this was popular in the 30's and 40's when he was at school. Written in 1899 and published as Antigonish in 1922. Enjoy.
Antigonish
Yesterday, upon the stair,
I met a man who wasn't there.
He wasn't there again today,
I wish, I wish he'd go away...
When I came home last night at three,
The man was waiting there for me
But when I looked around the hall,
I couldn't see him there at all!
Go away, go away, don't you come back any more!
Go away, go away, and please don't slam the door...
Last night I saw upon the stair,
A little man who wasn't there,
He wasn't there again today
Oh, how I wish he'd go away...
William Hughes Mearns (1875–1965)
@kalgrl
#blogjune
My Granddad used to quote this poem also! He knew many nonsense poems and did silly 'magic' tricks with string and spoons etc. Your post brought some of that childhood magic back to me 😋
ReplyDeleteThat's wonderful :))
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