Peacock Pie

Earth Folk

The cat she walks on padded claws,

The wolf on the hills lays stealthy paws,

Feathered birds in the rain-sweet sky

At their ease in the air, flit low, flit high.

The oak's blind, tender roots pierce deep,

His green crest towers, dimmed in sleep,

Under the stars whose thrones are set,

Where never prince hath journeyed yet.

 

Peacock Pie

Walter de la Mare

drawings by Edward Ardizzone

 I've always said that every children's library should include a book of Walter de la Mare.   This vintage Faber paperback has the bonus of including illustrations by Edward Ardizzone.   His ink vignettes are surprisingly evocative, while De la Mare's poems are at times silly, sweet, fanciful and wistful.