Saints

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Thursday, March 7, 2013

Little Boy Kneels At The Foot of His Bed

Alan Alexander Milne 1882-1956
                                                                                
Little Boy kneels at the foot of the bed,
Droops on the little hands little gold head.
Hush! Hush! Whisper who dares!
Christopher Robin is saying his prayers.

God bless Mummy. I know that's right.
Wasn't it fun in the bath to-night?
The cold's so cold, and the hot's so hot.
Oh! God bless Daddy - I quite forgot.

If I open my fingers a little bit more,
I can see Nanny's dressing-gown on the door.
It's a beautiful blue, but it hasn't a hood.
Oh! God bless Nanny and make her good.

Mine has a hood, and I lie in bed,
And pull the hood right over my head,
And I shut my eyes, and I curl up small,
And nobody knows that I'm there at all.

Oh! Thank you, God, for a lovely day.
And what was the other I had to say?
I said "Bless Daddy," so what can it be?
Oh! Now I remember it. God bless Me.

Little Boy kneels at the foot of the bed,
Droops on the little hands little gold head.
Hush! Hush! Whisper who dares!
Christopher Robin is saying his prayers.


3 comments:

Unknown said...

Thank you, Terry, for inspiring me with my favorite childhood poem combined with these exquisite photographic insights into Pope Benedict XVI's private life in the papacy. As a church organist age 67 with lifelong disabilities, this scenario motivates me to do an evening organ practice now, the only way I get things done by Mass time & probably how Benedict also did sometimes. In fact, I notice from his placement that he & I may well have the same or similar musculo-skeletal issues which can indeed be distracting though generally liveable well into old age if you have mercy on yourself...

And what a tastefully-appointed surrounding, no matter how one feels, and he deserved that exquisite bedroom for his well-earned respite. Benedict has always been somebody's little brother, but now the man is DISABLED & there's nothing anyone could do about the first Disability Retirement in papal history - so thank God for him and that Pope Francis came to the rescue, as this pontifical transition is working out perfectly! When I saw the photo of the two popes kneeling side-by-side in prayer at Castel Gandolfo & Pope Francis welcoming Pope Benedict home to his monastery, that collegial fraternity was the sweetest thing I'd ever seen & due only to the dissimilarity in their sizes, I dubbed them Big Pope and Little Pope. So sleep well, Little Pope in your very own little Pope House, as now Big Pope is just up the street if you need him, he's got your interests at heart, he loves you & he's got your back, too! Oremus...

Terry Fenwick said...

My great pleasure, Marie DuMabeiller! So happy you enjoyed the same things I did. Do you know Teddy Bear? I think I have it posted under Teddy Bear on my blog. Another of A. A. Milne's and my most favorite ever.

Unknown said...

Yes, Terry, I vividly remember "Teddy Bear," though not in its entirety, so I will look for your posting from that priceless series (was it in Milne's "When We Were Very Young?")! BTW, maybe you can help direct me to the opus of Benedict XVI on the Catechism, i.e. bibliographic & availability, particularly in English? I'd like to see if that refers more to Angels, since I've been interested in this topic since elementary school & I think he favors the theology of St. Augustine. Your blog post sent to me today on Angels reminds me to refresh my memory.