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YOUNG LAUGHTER, by                    
First Line: O ominous counting-out rhymes, o delirious
Last Line: The perpetual april of poetry.
Subject(s): Poetry & Poets


O ominous counting-out rhymes, O delirious
Ring-around-a-rosy, and tremulous hide-and-go-seek.
Ready or not, you shall be caught . . .
(Ready or not, by the full-grown years!)
O strenuous tag, and dangerous London Bridge --
And the fumbling and laughter of blindman's buff,
The lyrical suspense of drop-the-handkerchief,
The popularity contest of the-farmer-in-the-dell.

Now dear is this carefree heritage,
These happy-go-lucky rigmarole ditties
Which children have lightheartedly chanted
To their dancing and running, spring
After spring, up the centuries' turning!
What rollicking, nonsensical jingles,
What catches and rounds to their frolicking!

This is the green grass of tradition,
The vernal revival of song in young veins,
The yearly renewal of lilt in young limbs,
The attuning of new hearts to the ancient race rhythms,
The annual amalgam of the endless generations.
This is the young laughter of the language,
The perpetual April of poetry.





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