Apollo 11 Golden Jubilee -- Part 3

Hello everyone –

As we conclude our series commemorating the 50^th anniversary of the first lunar landing, longtime listmembers may recall that I’ve been fascinated by the Moon ever since I can remember. My grandmother used to sing a song to me called “I See the Moon,” which has this chorus:

“I see the Moon, and the Moon sees me.

God bless the Moon, and God bless me.”

The Moon also appears in this nonsensical nursery rhyme:

“Hey diddle diddle,

The cat and the fiddle,

The cow jumped over the Moon.

The little dog laughed

To see such fun,

And the dish ran away with the spoon.”

Here are some poems about the Moon to conclude Quotemail’s celebration of the Apollo 11 Golden Jubilee!

“The Man In The Moon Came Down Too Soon” (1954)

By J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973)

There is an inn, a merry old inn

  beneath an old grey hill,

And there they brew a beer so brown

That the Man in the Moon himself came down

  one night to drink his fill.

The ostler has a tipsy cat

  that plays a five-stringed fiddle;

And up and down he saws his bow

Now squeaking high, now purring low,

  now sawing in the middle.

The landlord keeps a little dog

  that is mighty fond of jokes;

When there's good cheer among the guests,

He cocks an ear at all the jests

  and laughs until he chokes.

They also keep a hornéd cow

  as proud as any queen;

But music turns her head like ale,

And makes her wave her tufted tail

  and dance upon the green.

And O! the rows of silver dishes

  and the store of silver spoons!

For Sunday there's a special pair,

And these they polish up with care

  on Saturday afternoons.

The Man in the Moon was drinking deep,

  and the cat began to wail;

A dish and a spoon on the table danced,

The cow in the garden madly pranced

  and the little dog chased his tail.

The Man in the Moon took another mug,

  and then rolled beneath his chair;

And there he dozed and dreamed of ale,

Till in the sky the stars were pale,

  and dawn was in the air.

Then the ostler said to his tipsy cat:

  'The white horses of the Moon,

They neigh and champ their silver bits;

But their master's been and drowned his wits,

  and the Sun'll be rising soon!'

So the cat on the fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle,

  a jig that would wake the dead:

He squeaked and sawed and quickened the tune,

While the landlord shook the Man in the Moon:

  'It's after three!' he said.

They rolled the Man slowly up the hill

  and bundled him into the Moon,

While his horses galloped up in rear,

And the cow came capering like a deer,

  and a dish ran up with the spoon.

Now quicker the fiddle went deedle-dum-diddle;

  the dog began to roar,

The cow and the horses stood on their heads;

The guests all bounded from their beds

  and danced upon the floor.

With a ping and a pang the fiddle-strings broke!

  the cow jumped over the Moon,

And the little dog laughed to see such fun,

And the Saturday dish went off at a run

  with the silver Sunday spoon.

The round Moon rolled behind the hill,

 as the Sun raised up her head.

She* hardly believed her fiery eyes;

For though it was day, to her surprise

  they all went back to bed!

“The Moon Blessing”

Collected by Alexander Carmichael in Carmina Gadelica (1900)

May thy light be fair to me!

May thy course be smooth to me!

If good to me is thy beginning,

Seven times better be thine end,

Thou fair Moon of the seasons,

Thou great lamp of grace!

The One who created thee

Created me likewise;

The One who gave thee weight and light

Gave to me life and death,

And the joy of the seven satisfactions,

Thou great lamp of grace,

Thou fair Moon of the seasons.

“Wynken, Blynken, and Nod”

By Eugene Field (1889)

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night

Sailed off in a wooden shoe —

Sailed on a river of crystal light,

Into a sea of dew.

"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"

The old Moon asked the three.

"We have come to fish for the herring fish

That live in this beautiful sea;

Nets of silver and gold have we!"

Said Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

The old Moon laughed and sang a song,

As they rocked in the wooden shoe,

And the wind that sped them all night long

Ruffled the waves of dew.

The little stars were the herring fish

That lived in that beautiful sea —

"Now cast your nets wherever you wish —

Never afraid are we";

So cried the stars to the fishermen three:

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

All night long their nets they threw

To the stars in the twinkling foam —

Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,

Bringing the fishermen home;

'Twas all so pretty a sail it seemed

As if it could not be,

And some folks thought 'twas a dream they'd dreamed

Of sailing that beautiful sea —

But I shall name you the fishermen three:

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,

And Nod is a little head,

And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies

Is a wee one's trundle-bed.

So shut your eyes while Mother sings

Of wonderful sights that be,

And you shall see the beautiful things

As you rock in the misty sea,

Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

Until next time – keep looking up!

Rob