Poetry Monday

Yet Gentle Will the Griffin Be
by Vachel Lindsay

The moon? It is griffin's egg,
Hatching tomorrow night.
And how the little boys will watch
With shouting and delight
To see him break the shell and stretch
And creep across the sky.
The boys will laugh. The girls,
I fear, may hide and cry.
Yet gentle will the griffin be,
Most decorous and fat,
And walk up to the Milky Way
And lap it like a cat.

Ocular Athletics

This week we tried something a little different. I read the list Chesterton made of his "equipment for starting on a journey to fairyland" which he wrote to his fiance, Frances (Gilbert Keith Chesterton by Maisie Ward) It starts with:
1st. A Straw Hat. The oldest part of this admirable relic shows traces of pure Norman work. The vandalism of Cromwell's soldiers has left us little of the original hat-band.

Here are the Hobbits' offerings.

Things I have in my Pockets by Ken
A rather battered jack knife.
A wrist watch or not a wrist watch anymore. It has lost its strap.
A wallet which has eight dollars in it.
And a lot of lint.

Stuff in my Bed by Joe

1. In my bed there is a sleeping bag that is in a very sorry state. But I like it because it is slightly longer than me, shoulder to toe, so I don't have to curl up. It has been with me on many exciting adventures including a sinking boat and many car rides.

2. Pillows not nearly as heroic as my sleeping bag.

3. A compass which has been on even more adventures than my sleeping bag but is not as interesting. (It points North)

4. Four pocket knives. (Not much to tell there, all new)

5. A blob of aluminum that melted in a fire.

6. A wallet.

7. A Crucifix broken in more than one place but lovingly repaired by my brother, Adam. (Who has good hands.)

8. A couple of bits and bobs that are less interesting than the wallet. (See item 6)



The Inventory to my Humble Sleeping Quarters by Adam

The many and strange things I keep in my sleeping quarters is about to be confided. This is the very first time I have ever even attempted to fathom my small but mysterious bed.

1. A flash light. Why I keep it I have no idea. It is useless in the fact that it does not work.

2. A small blue sleeping bag, looking torn and sorry but unpacked none the less.

3. The usual sleeping requirements. I just thought I would mention the sleeping bag just because it is important to me for some strange reason.

4. A small wooden cache box screwed into my wall. (Did I mention we (my brothers and I) all have a nice sturdy wall in our keeping?) It is crammed full of every object I can fit in it, which consist of: a pen knife which I have to had to bend back into position twice due to the fact that I carve too much. An arrow head which makes a rather bad necklace due to size and coldness. A box of quarters. A wallet which is regrettably empty. That is it for the box, but not half the bed. I guess it will remain mysterious. I like it that way.

Snow and Tom Sawyer

We are having our usual mid-winter interuption of declensions by lake effect snow. It is about 3 ft deep and rising. It has also been very cold so you would think those lakes would freeze already!
The hobbits had a Tom Sawyer moment when they convinced the neighbor boy that snow shoveling is the best work out ever!!!

Poetry Monday

How Far is it to Bethlehem?
By Frances Chesterton

How far is it to Bethlehem?
Not very far.
Shall we find the stable-room
Lit by a star?

Can we see the little Child?
Is He within?
If we lift the wooden latch,
May we go in?

May we stroke the creatures there--
Ox, ass, or sheep?
May we peep like them and see
Jesus asleep?

If we touch His tiny hand,
Will He awake?
Will He know we've come so far
Just for His sake?

Great Kings have precious gifts,
And we have naught;
Little smiles and little tears
Are all we brought.

For all weary children
Mary must weep;
Here, on His bed of straw,
Sleep, children, sleep.

God, in His mother's arms,
Babes in the byre,
Sleep, as they sleep who find
Their heart's desire.

Tale of a Monarch

We found a Monarch caterpillar early in October quietly munching milkweed on the edge of our church parking lot. This was pretty late in the season but we took him in and fed him fresh milkweed and waited for the amazing transformation from pretty caterpillar to stunning chrysalis. And waited and waited. And finally he morphed. But still he didn't hatch for weeks not the usual 10 or so days. We really gave up on him. But low and behold one day he split his chrysalis and emerged. It was snowing! So we brought in a potted mum and resigned ourselves to letting him live out his short life in the house. But luck was with our little friend and we had a span of absolutely lovely November weather and we released our Monarch into the wild.

No new name

One of the larger hobbits opined thatit was time to change the name of our school. After all they are BIG now. And two of them are vey big--5'10" and still stretching. However, I pointed out that the name came from the frequency of the meals not the size of the students. Are you ready to give up secong breakfast? Elevenses? Tea?? No. It was more like,"EGAD! NO!!" So, the name stays.

Ocular Athletics

A Dog
by Ken

Dogs are very useful.They help you hunt because they will fetch birds that you shoot. They are very good house pets. Good friends. They cheer you up when you're sad. Our family has a Golden Retriever.


Trees by Adam

Beautiful, spectacular, wondrous trees are the subject of this paper which regrettably is made out of a tree. Did you know that lots of trees are cut down just for paper? But never mind, I'm beginning to sound like an environmentalist. (Whew, long word.) Anyway, I did not start this paper to complain. (overly) Whenever I look around I see at least one tree. The tree I'm looking at right now is a small birch. Not tiny mind, it actually is rather big. It's a good forty feet high and a foot's width. It's branches extend about thirteen feet from the trunk. These are rough estimates so if the imagined tree is out of shape don't blame me. Matters press, so I will end this paper with: I like maple trees. How about you?


A Helmet
by Joe

A helmet is a protective coveringfor the head. The army still uses helmets but not as much as they did back in 1200 A.D. Some helmets have a bowl for your head and a nose guard. Others are like a box for your head with eye slits ans breathing holes and others look like you are wearing a pot on your hed. Some helmets can stop a sword without a dent, while others cannot stop a rock thrown by a young boy. Helmets can be made out of just aobut anything from cardboard to steel. But I gotta read my Civics so goodbye. See you next Thursday.