"ARE you awake, Gemelli, This frosty night?" "We'll be awake till réveillé, Which is sunrise," say the Gemelli, "It's no good trying to go to sleep: "It's no good trying to go to sleep: If there's wine to be got we'll drink it deep, But rest is hopeless to-night, But rest is hopeless to-night." "Are you cold too, poor Pleiads, This frosty night?" "Yes, and so are the Hyads: See us cuddle and hug," say the Pleiads, "All six in a ring: it keeps us warm: We huddle together like birds in a storm: It's bitter weather to-night, It's bitter weather to-night." "What do you hunt, Orion, This starry night?" "The Ram, the Bull, and the Lion, And the Great Bear," says Orion, "With my starry quiver and beautiful belt, I am trying to find a good thick pelt To warm my shoulders to-night, To warm my shoulders to-night." "Did you hear that, Great She-Bear, This frosty night?" "Yes, he's talking of stripping me bare Of my own big fur," says the She-Bear, "I'm afraid of the man and his terrible arrow: The thought of it chills my bones to the marrow, And the frost so cruel to-night! And the frost so cruel to-night!" "How is your trade, Aquarius, This frosty night?" "Complaints is many and various, And my feet are cold," says Aquarius, "There's Venus objects to Dolphin-scales, And Mars to Crab-spawn found in my pails, And the pump has frozen to-night, And the pump has frozen to-night." | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...WHERE? by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON THE COMING OF GOOD LUCK by ROBERT HERRICK CATAWBA WINE by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW SONNET: 17 by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE ECLOGUE: THE COMMON A-TOOK IN by WILLIAM BARNES THE QUAKER POET; VERSES ON SEEING MYSELF SO DESIGNATED by BERNARD BARTON |