Cuckoo in the Pear-Tree

William Brighty Rands 1823 (Chelsea, Middlesex) – 1882 (East Dulwich, London)



The Cuckoo sat in the old pear-tree,
Cuckoo!
Raining or snowing, nought cared he.
Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo, nought cared he.

The Cuckoo flew over a housetop high.
Cuckoo!
"Dear, are you at home, for here am I?
Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo, here am I."

"I dare not open the door to you.
Cuckoo!
Perhaps you are not the right cuckoo?
Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cukoo, the right Cuckoo!"

"I am the right Cuckoo, the proper one.
Cuckoo!
For I am my father's only son,
Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo, his only son."

"If you are your father's only son -
Cuckoo!
The bobbin pull tightly,
Come through the door lightly -
Cuckoo!

"If you are your father's only son -
Cuckoo!
It must be you, the only one -
Cuckoo, cuckoo, my own Cuckoo!
Cuckoo!"

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

40 sec read
86

Quick analysis:

Scheme aBaBa cBcBc bBbBb dBdBd DBaaB DBdbB
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 688
Words 136
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

William Brighty Rands

William Brighty Rands (24 December 1823, Chelsea, Middlesex — 23 April 1882, East Dulwich, London) was a British writer and one of the major authors of nursery rhymes of the Victorian era.  more…

All William Brighty Rands poems | William Brighty Rands Books

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    "Cuckoo in the Pear-Tree" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/39216/cuckoo-in-the-pear-tree>.

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