March 21st, aside from being the Spring Equinox this year (more later), is also World Poetry Day. The day was established by UNESCO in 1999. The United Nations site explains “Poetry reaffirms our common humanity by revealing to us that individuals, everywhere in the world, share the same questions and feelings. Poetry is the mainstay of oral tradition and, over centuries, can communicate the innermost values of diverse cultures.”

That sounds so serious – and the poetry I’d like to share today is not. It prefaces the book Most Anything You Please by Trudy J. Morgan-Cole which I just picked up from the library yesterday and am itching to start. It’s about three generations of women who run a small grocery and confectionary store in St. John’s Newfoundland.

The words of this poem are taken from Old Brown’s Daughter by G.W. Hunt, an old English music hall song which has become a Newfoundland folk song.

Old Brown sells from off the shelf most anything you please
He’s got jews-harps for the little boys, lollipops and cheese.
His daughter minds the store and it’s a treat to see her serve
I’d like to run away with her but I don’t have the nerve.

Although we’re supposed to be getting a snow/ice pellets/freezing rain storm this evening, this morning is sunny. I think that’s appropriate given, that for the next six months, our daylight hours here in the Northern Hemisphere will be greater than the dark hours. Hurrah!

Happy World Poetry Day! Thank you to Sue at Whispering Gums for the impetus for this post. Her take on the day is much more intelligent and diverse than mine.

Do you have a bit of rhyme you’d like to share?

P.S. The links are affiliate links so I will receive a small percentage of any purchase you make after clicking through from this blog.