Moon Song

[mdlbear]

For as long as I've known her, the flower_cat has been fond of quoting a couple of lines from a poem she heard as a child. It finally occurred to me to type one of the more distinctive lines into Google, which of course yielded the complete poem both by itself and in a blog post (which mentions that it appeared in The Golden Book of Poetry published in 1949), along with a discussion thread on The Mudcat Cafe. Apparently it has also been set to music at least once, and sung in a number of variously mangled versions.

Moon Song

Zoon, zoon, cuddle and croon--
  Over the crinkling sea,
The moon man flings him a silvered net
  Fashioned of moonbeams three.

And some folk say when the net lies long
  And the midnight hour is ripe;
The moon man fishes for some old song
  That fell from a sailor's pipe.

And some folk say that he fishes the bars
  Down where the dead ships lie,
Looking for lost little baby stars
  That slid from the slippery sky.

And the waves roll out and the waves roll in
  And the nodding night wind blows,
But why the moon man fishes the sea
  Only the moon man knows.

Zoon, zoon, net of the moon
  Rides on the wrinkling sea;
Bright is the fret and shining wet,
  Fashioned of moonbeams three.

And some folk say when the great net gleams
  And the waves are dusky blue,
The moon man fishes for two little dreams
  He lost when the world was new.

And some folk say in the late night hours,
  While the long fin-shadows slide,
The moon man fishes for cold sea flowers
  Under the tumbling tide.

And the waves roll out and the waves roll in
  And the gray gulls dip and doze,
But why the moon man fishes the sea
  Only the moon man knows.

Zoon, zoon, cuddle and croon--
  Over the crinkling sea,
The moon man flings him a silvered net
  Fashioned of moonbeams three.

And some folk say that he follows the flecks
  Down where the last light flows,
Fishing for two round gold-rimmed "specs"
  That blew from his button-like nose.

And some folk say while the salt sea foams
  And the silver net lines snare,
The moon man fishes for carven combs
  That float from the mermaids' hair.

And the waves roll out and the waves roll in
  And the nodding night wind blows,
But why the moon man fishes the sea
  Only the moon man knows.

                Mildred Plew Meigs, 1923 

Note on copyright status: The poem was made into an illustrated children's book in 1991. Amazon's page helpfully adds that it originally appeared in Child Life in 1923. The author, Mildred Plew Merryman (nee Miegs), died in 1944. So according to the copyright help page on Wikisource, it is one year newer than the point before which it would be undisputably in the public domain. Not having been published before 1923, it's public domain only if copyright was not renewed. Who knows? The copyright renewal search engine lists several works from Child Life Magazine, but not this one, but it's possible that the magazine's copyright was renewed as a whole. I'm probably safe. In any case, it enters the public domain 70 years after Mrs. Merryman's death, which would be 2014.

Don't get me started on my copyright rant.

Comments

[linda-muireall.livejournal.com]

I had a copy of that book as a child in the early 1950's, and in my copy almost every poem in it had accompanying illustrations - many of which are still etched in my memory. It was a very large format book - I think at least 12 inches wide and 15 to 18 inches tall. I loved all the illustrations in it. My old copy of it may still be around in one of my my storage units in my boxes of books somewhere, tattered and with the covers threatening to fall off. Anyway, this was one of my favorite poems also.

[mdlbear]

I'm pretty sure I had a copy, too, and it or Colleen's may still be around the house somewhere. Of course, that doesn't mean I'd be able to find it...

The big Golden books were wonderful.

[nimuejohn.livejournal.com]

This is so cool. Thank you for sharing it.

[mdlbear]

You're welcome! (And that's a great userpic!)