I believe this poem is classified as a nursery rhyme, but I still think it’s one of the loveliest pieces ever written.
The Swing
by Robert Louis Stevenson
How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!
Up in the air and over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
River and trees and cattle and all
Over the countryside—
Till I look down on the garden green,
Down on the roof so brown—
Up in the air I go flying again,
Up in the air and down!
A writing instructor once told me that with poetry, you have to make every word count. This poem only has eighty-one of them, yet it perfectly captures the exhilaration of being on a swing. I learned a lot from that teacher, but I still struggle and strive to do what appears effortless to Stevenson.
Until next time,
Lee
