_Of the Woods on a Lonesome Day, and the Friendliness of the
Wood-Folks on December Days when you Put your Ears Close and Listen._
This day--it was a lonely day. I did have longings all its hours for
Angel Mother and Angel Father. In-between times all day at school
I did print messages for them on gray leaves I did gather on the
way to school. I did tell on the leaves the longings I was having.
Too, on the leaves I did tell of William Shakespeare and our talks
as we do go walking down the lane, and the poetry I do tell him in
the manger. And I did print on more leaves how I do read out of the
books they did make--how I do sit in the manger and read what is in
them, and he does have understandings. And on other leaves I did
tell them as how the nose of Thomas Chatterton Jupiter Zeus that was
soreness has now well feels with prayers and mentholatum that Sadie
McKibben did give, and as how the head-ache of the most big rooster
has now well feels with camphoratum and vaselineatum; and as how the
stomach-ache of Aphrodite did get well feels with caster oilatum
that Sadie McKibben did give. And after, I did tell of how on many
days in gray-light-time I have had going on searches for the kisses
of Angel Father, what he did tell me to keep watches for in the
fleurs while he was away gone to the far lands. And on more leaves
I did tell them as how Peter Paul Rubens that was is not now, and
how I do carry about with me the little bell he always did wear in
the cathedral.
And when these leaves were so done, I did not go on for a time
little. For a little time I did have thinks. And the thinks I did
have--they were about the glad song. The glad song in my heart sings
not bright to-day. It is lonesome feels I have. But I do try to have
thinks as how I can bring happiness to folks about. That is such a
help when lonesome feels do come. Angel Mother did say, “Make earth
glad, little one--that is the way to keep the fire-tongue of the glad
song ever in your heart. It must not go out.” I so do try to keep
it there. I so do try, for it is helps on cold days and old days.
And I did have remembers as how it was Angel Mother did say, “When
one keeps the glad song singing in one’s heart then do the hearts
of others sing.”
So I did make hard swallows to swallow all the lonesome feels, and I
did have thinks as how I would stop to get water-cress for the mamma
on the way home from school. She does have such a fondness for it.
And too she does have longings for singing lessons. I am saving my
pennies to buy her one. All the pennies that the man that wears gray
neckties and is kind to mice does give to me I save. I put them in
the corner of the wood-shed where Brave Horatius sleeps at night.
I think I have most enough pennies to buy her a singing lesson now.
I have nineteen pennies. And when I grow up I am going to buy her
a whole rain-barrel full of singing lessons.
And then I did have thinks as how to-morrow I will be taking Elizabeth
Barrett Browning to visit the girl who has no seeing. They do both
have likings for one another. The girl who has no seeing has an
understanding soul. All my friends do have appreciations of the pats
she does give to them and the words she does say. And sometimes a
goodly number of them do have goings to her house with me. That is
when her folks are not at home. Then does Elizabeth Barrett Browning
walk right by my side up to the door. And Thomas Chatterton Jupiter
Zeus cuddles up in my arms, and in my pockets do ride other folks--and
Brave Horatius follows after.
When we are come, she does smooth back my curls and give me a kiss.
She says when we are come, “Here is come the kingdom of heaven.”
I have feels she has mistakes about that, because the kingdom of
heaven, being up in the sky, is there beyond the stars. And when we
are come, she does have asking about the voices. And I do help her
to get understandings of the thoughts growing with the fleurs and
the trees and the leaves. And I do tell her as how those are God’s
thoughts growing right up out of the earth. And she wants to know
more. Always she does ask for more. To-morrow we will go--Elizabeth
Barrett Browning and me--we will go the way that does lead to the
house of the girl that has no seeing.
To-day, after I did have thinks about it in school, I did print more
messages on leaves for Angel Father and Angel Mother. I did tell them
about the girl who has no seeing. And on more leaves I did print all
about the cathedral and how the presence of Saint Louis is always
near unto it. And then it was come time for school to let out.
I went adown the road. I went the way by the field where Aidan of
Iona come from Lindisfarne was on yesterday. I climbed the fence. I
looked looks about. He was not there to-day. But there were Bede of
Jarrow and Felix of Croyland. I did have talks with them. I went on.
I went on to the singing creek where the willows grew. I gathered
water-cress for the mamma. Then I did go my way to the house we live
in. No one was there. I put the water-cress for the mamma on the
cook table. Then I did bring much wood in and put it in the wood-box
back of the kitchen stove.
After the chickens did have their supper feed, I did go into the
near woods. I so went to tie the messages I did print on gray leaves
to the trees. And I tied one on one tree and one on another. I tied
them there that they may go in thoughts to Angel Mother and Angel
Father up in heaven there. And I did have thinks when the angels come
to walk in the near woods they would see and carry them on. And I
did say a little prayer every time I did tie on a leaf-message.
I did look looks about. This woods is gray in winter when come cold
days. And gray shadows walk among the trees. They touch one’s face
with velvet fingers when one goes walking there in the woods. In
the winter old gray leaves grow to look like lace. They are very
beautiful. As I did go along, I saw many gray rocks. Some gray
rocks had gray and green patches on them. Some of these patches had
ruffles all around their edges. The gray patches on gray rocks are
lichens. My Angel Father said so. Lichen folks talk in gray tones. I
think they do talk more when come winter days. I hear their voices
more in December than I do hear their voices in July and June time.
Angel Father did show me the way to listen to lichen voices. Most
grown-ups don’t hear them at all. I see them walk right by--in a
hurry sometimes. And all the time the lichen folks are saying things.
And the things they say are their thoughts about the gladness of a
winter day. I put my ear close to the rocks and I listen. That is how
I do hear what they are saying. Then I do take a reed for a flute.
I climb on a stump--on the most high stump that is near. I pipe on
the flute to the wind what the lichens are saying. I am piper for
the lichens that dwell on the gray rocks, and the lichens that cling
to the trees grown old.