THE FLY-AWAY HORSE

by: Eugene Field (1850-1895)

      H, a wonderful horse is the Fly-Away Horse--
      Perhaps you have seen him before;
      Perhaps, while you slept, his shadow has swept
      Through the moonlight that floats on the floor.
      For it's only at night, when the stars twinkle bright,
      That the Fly-Away Horse, with a neigh
      And a pull at his rein and a toss of his mane,
      Is up on his heels and away!
      The moon in the sky,
      As he gallopeth by,
      Cries: "Oh! What a marvelous sight!"
      And the Stars in dismay
      Hide their faces away
      In the lap of old Grandmother Night.
       
      It is yonder, out yonder, the Fly-Away Horse
      Speedeth ever and ever away--
      Over meadows and lane, over mountains and plains,
      Over streamlets that sing at their play;
      And over the sea like a ghost sweepeth he,
      While the ships they go sailing below,
      And he speedeth so fast that the men on the mast
      Adjudge him some portent of woe.
      "What ho, there!" they cry,
      As he flourishes by
      With a whisk of his beautiful tail;
      And the fish in the sea
      Are as scared as can be,
      From the nautilus up to the whale!
       
      And the Fly-Away Horse seeks those far-away lands
      You little folk dream of at night--
      Where candy-trees grow, and honey-brooks flow,
      And corn-fields with popcorn are white;
      And the beasts in the wood are ever so good
      To children who visit them there--
      What glory astride of a lion to ride,
      Or to wrestle around with a bear!
      The monkeys, they say:
      "Come on, let us play,"
      And they frisk in the coconut-trees:
      While the parrots, that cling
      To the peanut-vines sing
      Or converse with comparative ease!
       
      Off! scamper to bed -- you shall ride him to-night!
      For, as soon as you've fallen asleep,
      With a jubilant neigh he shall bear you away
      Over forest and hillside and deep!
      But tell us, my dear, all you see and you hear
      In those beautiful lands over there,
      Where the Fly-Away Horse wings his far-away course
      With the wee one consigned to his care.
      Then grandma will cry
      In amazement: "Oh, my!"
      And she'll think it could never be so.
      And only we two
      Shall know it is true--
      You and I, little precious! shall know!

"The Fly-Away Horse" is reprinted from Poems of Childhood. Eugene Field. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1904.

MORE POEMS BY EUGENE FIELD

RELATED LINKS

BROWSE THE POETRY ARCHIVE:

[ A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z ]

Home · Poetry Store · Links · Email · © 2002 Poetry-Archive.com