Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE GAMES, by EDWIN FORD PIPER


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE GAMES, by                    
First Line: Luck makes him head, he meets it pranksomely
Last Line: Youth, and romance, and music of the moon!
Subject(s): Children; Games; Childhood; Recreation; Pastimes; Amusements


Luck makes him head, he meets it pranksomely, --
Dapper Ulysses, five feet in his boots
And proud as Satan of a black mustache
Would grace a Spanish pirate; half a hand
In the wheat, first class at baking. Buxom Sue
Towers last in the line of girls; she could pitch bundles
All day for any partner: mirth arises
To see them countering between the ranks,
First shuttles in the good old weaving game,
The blithesome maze of the Virginia reel:

" Meet half way to your best liking,
Meet half way to your best liking,
Meet half way to your best liking,
You're the one, my darling!

" Lead 'er up an' down the old brass wagon,
Lead 'er up an' down the old brass wagon,
Lead 'er up an' down the old brass wagon,
You're the one, my darling!

" Wheel an' turn the old brass wagon,
Wheel an' turn the old brass wagon,
Three wheels off an' the axle draggin',
You're the one, my darling!"

The seven stanzas near monotony
When each has led the weaving. Welcome change
Is the graceful round of a good old harvest dance:

" O, it rains, and it hails, and it's cold stormy weather;
In comes the farmer, drinking up cider.
I'll be the reaper if you'll be the binder,
I've lost my true love and I cannot find her."

They race through Tansy with a merry speed
Before the circle spins into rollicking rings
In the whirls of "Three by three with a polkay O!"

" O, great big sheep jumped over the meetin' house,
Over the meetin' house, over the meetin' house,
Great big sheep jumped over the meeting' house
Down in Alabama!"

Some echo rises as from age-old rites
In Oats, Peas, Beans and Barley, Weevilly Wheat
Times lightsome dancers, then, a flouting song
With a flower for the girl, a gibe to tease the boy:

' O, now we've got the little red rose,
The little red rose, the little red rose;
And now we've got the little red rose
So early in the morning!
Go choose you out a partner,
The prettiest you can find.

" And now we've got the old plough horse,
The old plough horse, the old plough horse; --"

Comes Happy Miller with its round of shifts;
Then Chase the Squirrel; boys and girls in lines,
With the head couple dancing through and back:

" Up and down the center we go,
Up and down the center we go,
Up and down the center we go,
This cold and frosty morning!

" Now's the time to chase that squirrel,
Now's the time to chase that squirrel, --"

The girl runs round the rank of girls, the boy
Circles at speed the rank of boys in hope
Of sweet reward in the lane. The lads take space
Lengthening the line to see the pursuer puff:

" Catch her and kiss her if you can, --"

And he may catch her if luck favors him,
Otherwise, -- he is chaffed for running slow.
Voices need rest. Youth turns with lively relish
To coffee and fried chicken, rolls and cakes,
Doughnuts and pies. An hour of chat and laughter;
Then the cool moon may spill its gracious ease
On what might else seem awkward, while the space
Lends harmony to youthful voices blent
In folk-tunes of the good old courtship games,
Where dancing is the maid, romance the lady:
Juniper Tree, We're Marching Round the Levee,
Here Comes a Loving Couple, Lazy Mary,
Then the lively turns of The Girl I Left Behind Me,
With, Here She Stands, and a partners' march for ending:

" We are marching down to old Quebec,
And the drums are loudly beating;
The Americans have gained the day,
And the British are retreating.

" The war's all o'er, and we'll turn back
To the place from whence we started;
We'll open the ring, and choose a couple in
To see if they'll prove true hearted."

The moon is rolling half-way down the sky
When the last wagon rumbles to the road;
And you hear Suwanee River, Old Black Joe,
And Annie Laurie, sweet and faint and far,
Dying in silver haze along the hills.

O prairie spaces, joyous boys and girls,
Youth, and romance, and music of the moon!





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