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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


NURSERY RHYME by MARTIN CHESLEY

First Line: ON TO BABYLON OVER THE PLAIN OF TIME
Last Line: A BILLION YEARS AND A BURNT-OUT SUN.

On to Babylon over the plain of Time --
Two white horses and an old rhyme.

On to somewhere -- every man alive!
What does it matter if we never arrive?

On to Bethlehem through a steep black pass --
Three grey camels and a long-eared ass.

The way is weary but the oases green --
Six black horses and a ragged queen.

On to Samarkand by the desert of lost things --
A crazy caravan and a yak with wings.

On to Xanadu over the bridge of Dream --
A piebald nag and a stolen moonbeam.

Let's go traveling -- the way is long --
A pocket full of stars and an old song.

On to London town by a vanished lane --
A rocking-horse, a cockle-shell cross,
And we'll never go home again.

Let's go traveling -- oh, what fun!
A billion years and a burnt-out sun.



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