AN OWL POEM

" To-whit! To -whoo! "

As this is officially the first day of winter there is nothing for it but to draw the armchair near the fire and take down a volume of poetry . While the wind gusts and the rain pelts outside, these elemental sounds are the perfect accompaniment to an evening of poetic reverie. And if you have the luxury of the house to yourself then you can recite aloud and add your voice to the hectic symphony howling outside. Otherwise why not share the poetic gems with your nearest and dearest,and where better to begin with than this little pearl from the great Bard himself! GOSh.-

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

To-whit! To-whoo!

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

To-whit! To-whoo!

A merry note!

While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.

William Shakespeare