Famous English poems for recitation competition for kids

Famous English poems for recitation competition for kids

by
Spread the love

Famous English poems for recitation competition for kids

T h e S t a r

Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

How I wonder what you are!

Up above the world so high.

Like a diamond in the sky.

As your bright and tiny spark.

Lights the traveler in the dark—

Though I know not what you are.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star

Sea Shell

Sea Shell, Sea Shell,

Sing me a song, O please!

A song of ships, and sailor men.

And parrots, and tropical trees.

Of islands lost in the Spanish Main

Which no man ever may find again.

Of fishes and corals under the waves.

And sea horses stabled in great green caves.

Sea Shell, Sea Shell,

Sing of the things you know so well.

Until I Saw the Sea

Until I saw the sea

I did not know

that wind

could wrinkle water so.

I never knew

that sun

could splinter a whole sea of blue.

Nor

did I know before,

a sea breathes in and out

upon ashore.

T h e M o r e  I t  S n o w s

The more it

SNOWS-tiddely-pom,

T h e m o r e i t GOES-tiddely-pom

The more it GOES-tiddely-pom O n Snowing.

And nobody KNOWS-tiddely-pom,

How cold my TOES-tiddely-pom

How cold my TOES-tiddely-pom

Are Growing.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping

here To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer To stop

without a farmhouse near Between

the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells

a shake To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound’s

the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep.

And miles to go before I sleep.

And miles to go before I sleep

Check

The Night was creeping on the ground!

She crept, and did not make

a sound Until she reached the tree:

And then She covered it, and stole again

Along the grass beside the wall! —

I heard the rustling of her shawl

As she threw blackness

everywhere Along the sky,

the ground, the air.

And in the room where

I was hid! But,

no matter what she did

To everything that was without.

She could not put my candle out!

So I stared at the Night!

And she Stared back solemnly at me!

Night Comes …

Night comes leaking out of the sky.

Stars come peeking.

M o o n  c o m e s sneaking,

silvery-sly.

Who is shaking,

shivery quaking?

Who is afraid of the night ?

N o t I .

The Night Is a Big Black Cat

The Night is a big black cat

The Moon is her topaz eye,

The stars are the mice

she hunts at night.

In the field of the sultry sky

THE SCIENTIST

Rabindranath Tagore

When the thunder rumbled, ma

You heard the clouds so plain

When in the month of June there came

The falling lines of rain

When the eastern wind did cross

The fields, how hard it blew

Whistling through the bamboo grove

Like a flute so true

And all at once, just see, ma

Covering the earth, near and far

Oh so many flowers

Springing into view

You may think that they’re just flowers

Sprouting in a throng

But I think, ma, that all of you

Are absolutely wrong

For in fact they’re all schoolboys

Books in every hand

They can be found in their classrooms

That lie beneath the sand

They study on the floor

Behind a closed door

And if they want to play

The teacher makes them stand

April and May for them

Are just the afternoon

When June is here the sun goes down

It will be evening soon

All the branches stir and rustle

Deep within the forest

When the clouds start rumbling

It’s four-thirty, that’s best

For at once school gives over

And they tumble out

In white and green and red and gold

A hundred shades, no doubt

You know, ma, I really think they

Live up in the sky

Where at night the stars line up

In rows arranged so high

Can’t you see, ma, how busy they are

In your garden fine

And do you understand just why

They’re forming a quick line?

Do you know for whom

They are trying to bloom

Do you think that they don’t have

Mothers just like mine?

“Translated by Arunava Sinha from the Bengali original ‘Boiggyanik’ “

THE YOGI’S A SOLITARY

Kabir

The yogi’s a solitary

He doesn’t go on pilgrimages

Or to religious fairs

Or attend congregations

He doesn’t keep fasts

He doesn’t have a travel bag

Or utensils to cook in

He doesn’t carry a purse

He doesn’t rub

His body with ash

He doesn’t have an alms bowl

But never goes hungry

At night

After his wanderings

He returns to his house

And sleeps in the courtyard

You can’t meet him

Says Kabir

He left the country

We’re citizens of

And he’s not coming back

“Translated by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra from the Hindi”

Leave a Comment