WOOING TIME by AMOS RUSSEL WELLS

"Wizard, wizard, tell me clear
When is the best day to court my dear,
My dear who does not like me?"
The wizard put on his glasses wise,
He looked at the ground and he looked at the skies,
And thus spake he:
"When the moon is hot and the sun is cold,
And the shepherd houses the wolves in his fold,
When the robin flies high and the hawk flies low
And the rivers up to the mountains go,
When the black bat sleeps in the bobolink's nest,
And Castor and Pollux rise out of the west,
Then is the likeliest day of the lot
To woo the maiden that likes you not."

"Wizard, wizard, tell me clear
When is the best day to court my dear,
My dear who truly loves me?"
The wizard wrinkled his forehead wise,
He gazed at the ground and he gazed at the skies,
And thus spake he:
"When the sunbeams laugh and the gray clouds scowl,
When you hear the lark or the wren or the owl,
When the brooks run blithely down to the sea,
When two can sit on the same settee,
When Saturday comes at the end of the week,
And a bashful lad finds it hard to speak,
That is the very best day for you
To woo the maiden that loves you true."

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

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