The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1906-02-23
THE MAKING OF POETS.

The attempt Of some Of the progress
i've schools Of our glorious country, to
encouraged that germ Of poetry which
is said to exist In every child, is meet
ing with a gratifying success. Here
is a specimen from which many les
SONS may be learned.
"The COW is very beautiful beast,
And on sweet grass she likes to feast;
She has a calf every year at least"
That nature study is taught in this
school there is no doubt, and so we
have a beautiful example of correla-
ton Of nature study, language and I'M
mortal verse Notice, if you please,
the stately swing Of the lines, remind
ing one Of the slow, but dignifed tread
of the COW as she walks through the
rank grass and gathers in a supply OF
food from which she may produce
milk for the little girls and boys, even
as the black sheep produces wool for
the little boy who lives in the lane.
No boy wrote this exquisite bit Of OBJ
servation. Only the aesthetic sense OF
a girl could so symbolic the beauty
Of old Brindle. a boy would have
thrown rocks at her, and there would
have been left on his soul no remem-
brance Of the goblets Of rich milk, or
the smell Of the dark green grass. lie
would have had stamped on the tab
lets Of his memory only picture OF
plain looking COW, busily engaged in
pulling up grass and hitting a horse
fly with wonderful accuracy by the
pendulum-like swing Of her tail.
There is, too, a tribute paid in this
verse to that sense Of duty that be-
longs to every being who ageres with
our strenuous President on the ques-
ton Of race suicide. Notice the last
line. Here is combined worthy pa
triotism, love Of the simple home
life, a maternal sense Of duty, and a |
regularity that compel our admiration.
We can give only one other sample /
Of verse TO show the poetic nature Of
childhood, and TO illustrate how won
derfully the scenes Of nature can mir
ror themselves on the souls Of child
rem. Repeat this in playful, quick
and lightsOme tone:
"See the little gOslings play
On the bank this sunny day,
Little goslings do but swim,
Each little her, each little him."
Is not the picture perfect? Is 1t not
wonderful that children should I'M
consciously paint these two scenes so
and yet in accord with the
subjects treated? Think how out Of
place, how jarring on ones artistic
sense, would. have been the stately
lines Of the verse about the COW they
had been written about the gOsling:
and see how ridiculous it would have
been to write the tripping lines about
the COW Imagine the stately tread
Of the gosling and the dainty patter Of
the COW.
All, to that soul which sees nature
as it is; to that tired heart that longs
for the country scenes Of childhood,
this gosling song comes like breath
Of fresh air as it plays across the fields
in May The old memories come
rushing back; one can hear the ripple
IF the stream as it takes its way musi-
cally over the rocks TO the bOundless {
sea; the golden CLINT Of the sun is on
is waters; while dotted here and there
)n its surface are the happy goslings
leach little her, each little HIM
little dreaming that in their play they
nave started a song in the soul Of a
,hild that may prove, as time ripens,
,ut the promise Of swan-song Of
Ome master poet.