Oh! Look at the Moon – Sharing a poem from the heart inspired by #BurnsNight

Last year around this time, friends of Scottish heritage invited us to a traditional supper in honour of Burns Night, the anniversary of the birthday of the Scottish poet Robert Burns, at which it is traditional to recite poetry.

It reminded me of my Irish heritage, and similar gatherings at which family and friends would sing Irish folk songs and recite verse. As a child I remember my dad, who is no longer with us, sharing poems he had learned by heart, and hearing the poems read at last year’s Burns Night supper made me wish I could recall and recite them too.

So, when last weekend we were invited back to our friends’ Burns Night supper, I was pleased to share one that I recalled in part from my dad’s  recitation, thanks to the giftie o’ Google, as Burns might have said!

Oh! Look at the Moon

by Eliza Lee Cabot Follen

Oh! look at the moon,
She is shining up there;
Oh! Mother, she looks
Like a lamp in the air.

Last week she was smaller,
And shaped like a bow;
But now she’s grown bigger,
And round as an O.

Pretty moon, pretty moon,
How you shine on the door,
And make it all bright
On my nursery floor!

You shine on my playthings,
And show me their place,
And I love to look up
At your pretty bright face.

And there is the star
Close by you, and maybe
That small, twinkling star
Is your little baby.

Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2018/01/25/oh-look-at-the-moon-sharing-a-poem-from-the-heart-inspired-by-burnsnight/

1 comment

    • Stephy on 4th July 2020 at 2:44 am
    • Reply

    The feeling I got from finding this online! I was just teaching my children and decided to look it up, only to find that I didn’t know it either. I was taught up to the part that says “as round as an O”. Now, I have to learn the complete verses.

    Thanks for sharing

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