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Voices of Spencer Creek
I wrote this homage fifty years or more after I first encountered Young Melissa. It has been part of my life, a song I sing every time I pick up a broom. I can hardly sweep without smiling, and who would want to, anyhow? So here it is, a reprise, if you will. --E.S.
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| Section of "Young Melisa Sweeps" by Meg Wahlberg, Childcraft Books (earlier named The Child's Treasury), copyrighted from 1923 to 1949, by Field Enterprises and The Quarrie Corporation |
When Old Aunt Edie Sweeps
When old Aunt Edie sweeps a room
She often leans upon the broom.
Each bit of clutter to be removed
Requires some contemplating, too.
Which way to move to be assured
That every single step is used
To clear the mess with minimum stress;
Then rest for a while with a happy smile.
And the original verse:
When Young Melissa Sweeps
When young Melissa sweeps a room
I vow she dances with a broom!
She curtsies in a corner brightly
And leads her partner forth politely.
Then up and down in jigs and reels,
With gold dust flying at their heels,
They caper. With a whirl or two
They make the wainscot shine like new;
They waltz beside the hearth, and quick
It brightens, shabby brick by brick.
A gay gavotte across the floor,
A Highland fling from door to door.
And every crack and corner's clean
Enough to suit a dainty queen.
If ever you are full of gloom,
Just watch Melissa sweep a room!
Nancy Byrd Turner
from the Childcraft books,
Volume Two
Storytelling and Other Poems
Field Enterprises, Inc.
Chicago, 1949
© Copyright 2000-2006 by West By Northwest.org
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