Kittie’s Toys

Dora Sigerson Shorter 1866 (Dublin) – 1918



A CHILD'S SONG
[WRITTEN FOR KATHLEEN]
I wish I had a soldier, a soldier, a soldier,
I wish I had a soldier to fight for love of me
Marie has a soldier, a soldier, a soldier,
Marie has a soldier, a gallant man is he.
I wish I had a bright flag, a gay flag, a dear flag,
I would love a fair flag to fly in liberty,
Gretchen has a big flag, a brave flag, a strong flag,
Gretchen has a fine flag that floats all high and free.
I wish I had a small ship, a strong ship, a good ship,
I would love a trim ship to sail upon the sea.

Johnny has a big ship, a grey ship, a grand ship,
Johnny took my small ship with all his big navie.
I wish I had a penny, a penny, a penny,
I wish I had a penny that all belonged to me,
I would build a fair house, a great house, a strong house,
I would make one grand house for all the world to see.
But Johnny stole my penny, my penny, my penny,
And Johnny took my bright flag that floated fair and free,
Then Johnny had my small ship, my trim ship, my good ship,
And Johnny broke my soldier that fought for liberty.
Now John would be my soldier, my soldier, my soldier,
But John he is a greedy boy, a selfish boy is he;

And Johnny beats the wee ones, the small ones, the weak ones,
He takes their playthings from them in the name of liberty.
When Johnny gets a whacking, a whacking, a whacking,
When Johnny gets a whacking, I think he'll let me be,
And I shall have my penny, my penny, my penny,
And I shall buy a bright flag to wave in victory.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:33 min read
106

Quick analysis:

Scheme XXABABCBCBDB DXBBXBBBDBAB XBXBBB
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 1,451
Words 309
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 12, 12, 6

Dora Sigerson Shorter

Dora Sigerson 18661918 was an Irish poet who after her marriage in 1895 wrote under the name Dora Sigerson Shorter She was born in Dublin Ireland the daughter of George Sigerson a surgeon and writer and Hester ne Varian also a writer She was a major figure of the Irish Literary Revival publishing many collections of poetry from 1893 Her friends included Katharine Tynan a noted Irish-born poet and author Rose Kavanagh and Alice Furlong writers and poets In 1895 she married Clement King Shorter an English journalist and literary critic They lived together in London until her death Source Wikipedia more…

All Dora Sigerson Shorter poems | Dora Sigerson Shorter Books

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