The Piper

by William Blake English

Piping down the valleys wild, Piping songs of pleasant glee, On a cloud I saw a child, And he laughing said to me:— “Pipe a song about a lamb:” So I piped with merry cheer. “Piper, pipe that song again:” So I piped; he wept to hear. “Drop thy pipe, thy happy pipe, Sing thy songs of happy cheer:” So I sung the same again, While he wept with joy to hear. “Piper, sit thee down and write In a book that all may read—” So he vanished from my sight; And I plucked a hollow reed, And I made a rural pen, And I stained the water clear, And I wrote my happy songs Every child may joy to hear.

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