Eugene Field (1850-1895)
The Dinkey Bird
1In an ocean, 'way out yonder,
2 (As all sapient people know)
3Is the land of Wonder-Wander,
4 Whither children love to go;
5It's their playing, romping, swinging,
6 That give great joy to me
7While the Dinkey-Bird goes singing
8 In the amfalula tree!
9There the gum-drops grow like cherries,
10 And taffy's thick as peas--
11Caramels you pick like berries
12 When, and where, and how you please;
13Big red sugar-plums are clinging
14To the cliffs beside that sea
15Where the Dinkey-Bird is singing
16 In the amfalula tree!
17So when children shout and scamper
18 And make merry all the day,
19When there's naught to put a damper
20 To the ardor of their play;
21When I hear their laughter ringing,
22 Then I'm sure as sure can be
23That the Dinkey-Bird is singing
24 In the amfalula tree!
25For the Dinkey-Bird's bravuras
26 And staccatos are so sweet--
27His roulades, appoggiaturas,
28 And robustos so complete,
29That the youth of every nation--
30 Be they near or far away--
31Have especial delectation
32 In that gladsome roundelay.
33Their eyes grow bright and brighter,
34 Their lungs begin to crow,
35Their hearts get light and lighter,
36 And their cheeks are all aglow;
37For an echo cometh bringing
38 The news to all and me,
39That the Dinkey-Bird is singing
40 In the amfalula tree.
41I'm sure you like to go there
42 To see your feathered friend--
43And so many goodies grow there
44 You would like to comprehend!
45Speed, little dreams, your winging
46 To that land across the sea
47Where the Dinkey-Bird is singing
48 In the amfalula tree!
Notes
26] staccatos: notes cut short.
27] roulades: vocal embellishments on a single syllable
appoggiaturas: minor notes preceding essential notes
32] roundelay: song with refrain
Online text copyright © 2009, Ian Lancashire (the Department of English) and the University of Toronto.
Published by the Web Development Group, Information Technology Services, University of Toronto Libraries.
Original text: Eugene Field, Lullaby-Land: Poems of Childhood (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1904): 43-46.
First publication date:
1904
RPO poem editor: Ian Lancashire
RP edition: RPO 1997.
Recent editing: 2:2002/3/27
Rhyme: ababcdcd
Other poems by Eugene Field
