The Golden Treasury of English Songs and Lyrics/Book 1/Poem 27

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
For other versions of this work, see Winter (Shakespeare).
2705571The Golden Treasury of English Songs and Lyrics — Poem XXVII. WinterFrancis Turner PalgraveWilliam Shakespeare (1564-1616)

xxvii

WINTER

When icicles hang by the wall
And Dick the shepherd blows his nail,
And Tom bears logs into the hall,
And milk comes frozen home in pail;
When blood is nipt, and ways be foul,
Then nightly sings the staring owl
Tuwhoo!
Tuwhit! tuwhoo! A merry note!
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.

When all around the wind doth blow.
And coughing drowns the parson’s saw,
And birds sit brooding in the snow,
And Marian’s nose looks red and raw;
When roasted crabs hiss in the bowl—
Then nightly sings the staring owl
Tuwhoo!
Tuwhit! tuwhoo! A merry note!
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.
W. Shakespeare