PODCAST

The Poem Reader

Dominic Frisby

For lovers of language. Every week a new poem read aloud. www.thepoemreader.com

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1:16

My Shadow

The Poem Reader ·

2023/02/25

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow—Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball,And he sometimes gets so little that there's none of him at all.He hasn't got a notion of how children ought to

2:24

Matilda Who told Lies, and was Burned to Death

The Poem Reader ·

2023/02/18

Matilda told such Dreadful Lies,It made one Gasp and Stretch one's Eyes;Her Aunt, who, from her Earliest Youth,Had kept a Strict Regard for Truth,Attempted to Believe Matilda:The effort very nearly killed her,And would have done so, had not SheDiscovered this Infirmity.For once, towards the Close of Day,Matilda, growing tired of play,And finding she was left alone,Went tiptoe to the TelephoneAnd summoned the Immediate AidOf London's Noble Fire-Brigade.Within an hour the Gallant BandWere pouring in

3:17

Macavity: The Mystery Cat

The Poem Reader ·

2023/02/11

Macavity's a Mystery Cat: he's called the Hidden Paw—For he's the master criminal who can defy the Law.He's the bafflement of Scotland Yard, the Flying Squad's despair:For when they reach the scene of crime—Macavity's not there!Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity,He's broken every human law, he breaks the law of gravity.His powers of levitation would make a fakir stare,And when you reach the scene of crime—Macavity's not there!You may seek him in the basement, you may look up in the

1:50

I know thee not, old man.

The Poem Reader ·

2023/02/04

I know thee not, old man: fall to thy prayers;How ill white hairs become a fool and jester!I have long dream'd of such a kind of man,So surfeit-swell'd, so old and so profane;But, being awaked, I do despise my dream.Make less thy body hence, and more thy grace;Leave gormandizing; know the grave doth gapeFor thee thrice wider than for other men.Reply not to me with a fool-born jest:Presume not that I am the thing I was;For God doth know, so shall the world perceive,That I have turn'd away my former

0:50

On a Tired Housewife

The Poem Reader ·

2023/01/28

Here lies a poor woman who was always tired,She lived in a house where help wasn’t hired:Her last words on earth were: ‘Dear friends, I am goingTo where there’s no cooking, or washing, or sewing,For everything there is exact to my wishes,For where they don’t eat there’s no washing of dishes.I’ll be where loud anthems will always be ringing,But having no voice I’ll be quit of the singing.Don’t mourn for me now, don’t mourn for me never,I am going to do nothing for ever and ever.’ This is a public

3:49

The Bishop of Rum-Ti-Foo

The Poem Reader ·

2023/01/21

From east and south the holy clanOf Bishops gathered to a man;To Synod, called Pan-Anglican,In flocking crowds they came.Among them was a Bishop, whoHad lately been appointed toThe balmy isle of Rum-ti-Foo,And PETER was his name.His people - twenty-three in sum -They played the eloquent tum-tum,And lived on scalps served up, in rum -The only sauce they knew.When first good BISHOP PETER came(For PETER was that Bishop's name),To humour them, he did the sameAs they of Rum-ti-Foo.His flock, I've often

4:06

The Walrus and the Carpenter

The Poem Reader ·

2023/01/14

The sun was shining on the sea,Shining with all his might:He did his very best to makeThe billows smooth and bright--And this was odd, because it wasThe middle of the night.The moon was shining sulkily,Because she thought the sunHad got no business to be thereAfter the day was done--"It's very rude of him," she said,"To come and spoil the fun!"The sea was wet as wet could be,The sands were dry as dry.You could not see a cloud, becauseNo cloud was in the sky:No birds were flying overhead--There were

1:00

January

The Poem Reader ·

2023/01/07

It freezes- all across a soundless skyThe birds go home. The governing dark's begun:The steadfast dark that waits not for a sun;The ultimate dark wherein the race shall die.Death, with his evil finger to his lip,Leers in at human windows, turning spyTo learn the country where his rule shall lieWhen he assumes perpetual generalship.The undefeated enemy, the chillThat shall benumb the voiceful earth at last,Is master of our moment, and has boundThe viewless wind it-self. There is no sound.It freezes

0:46

The Year

The Poem Reader ·

2023/01/01

What can be said in New Year rhymes,That’s not been said a thousand times? The new years come, the old years go,We know we dream, we dream we know. We rise up laughing with the light,We lie down weeping with the night. We hug the world until it stings,We curse it then and sigh for wings. We live, we love, we woo, we wed,We wreathe our prides, we sheet our dead. We laugh, we weep, we hope, we fear,And that’s the burden of a year. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other

1:55

In Memoriam, [Ring out, wild bells]

The Poem Reader ·

2022/12/31

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, The flying cloud, the frosty light: The year is dying in the night;Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go;Ring out the false, ring in the true.Ring out the grief that saps the mind For those that here we see no more; Ring out the feud of rich and poor,Ring in redress to all mankind.Ring out a slowly dying cause, And ancient forms of party

1:53

Good King Wenceslas

The Poem Reader ·

2022/12/26

Good King Wences'las looked out,on the Feast of Stephen,When the snow lay round about,deep and crisp and even;Brightly shone the moon that night,tho' the frost was cruel,When a poor man came in sight,gath'ring winter fuel."Hither, page, and stand by me,if thou know'st it, telling,Yonder peasant, who is he?Where and what his dwelling?""Sire, he lives a good league hence,underneath the mountain;Right against the forest fence,by Saint Agnes' fountain.""Bring me flesh, and bring me wine,bring me pine

1:57

For Christmas Day: Hark! the Herald Angels Sing

The Poem Reader ·

2022/12/25

Hark! The herald angels sing,“Glory to the newborn King!Peace on earth and mercy mild,God and sinners reconciled.”Joyful, all ye nations rise,Join the triumph of the skies,With th’angelic host proclaim:“Christ is born in Bethlehem.”Hark! The herald angels sing,“Glory to the newborn King!”Christ by highest heav'n adored,Christ the everlasting Lord!Late in time behold Him come,Offspring of a Virgin's womb.Veiled in flesh the Godhead see,Hail the incarnate Deity,Pleased as man with man to dwell,Jesus,

3:17

A Visit from St. Nicholas

The Poem Reader ·

2022/12/24

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the houseNot a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.The children were nestled all snug in their beds,While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.Away to the

1:37

In the Bleak Midwinter

The Poem Reader ·

2022/12/17

In the bleak mid-winterFrosty wind made moanEarth stood hard as iron,Water like a stone;Snow had fallen, snow on snow,Snow on snow,In the bleak mid-winterLong ago.Our God, heaven cannot hold HimNor earth sustain,Heaven and earth shall flee awayWhen He comes to reign:In the bleak mid-winterA stable-place sufficedThe Lord God Almighty —Jesus Christ.Enough for Him, whom cherubimWorship night and day,A breastful of milkAnd a mangerful of hay;Enough for Him, whom AngelsFall down before,The ox and ass and

1:05

Sonnet 97: How like a winter hath my absence been

The Poem Reader ·

2022/12/10

How like a winter hath my absence beenFrom thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year!What freezings have I felt, what dark days seen!What old December's bareness everywhere!And yet this time remov'd was summer's time,The teeming autumn, big with rich increase,Bearing the wanton burthen of the prime,Like widow'd wombs after their lords' decease:Yet this abundant issue seem'd to meBut hope of orphans and unfather'd fruit;For summer and his pleasures wait on thee,And thou away, the very birds are mute;Or

0:49

The Door

The Poem Reader ·

2022/12/03

Go and open the door.Maybe outside there’sa tree, or a wood,a garden,or a magic city.Go and open the door.Maybe a dog’s rummaging.Maybe you’ll see a face,or an eye,or the pictureof a picture.Go and open the door.If there’s a fogit will clear.Go and open the door.Even if there’s onlythe darkness ticking,even if there’s onlythe hollow wind,even ifnothingis there,go and open the door.At leastthere’ll bea draught This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get

1:09

Ode to a Compost Heap

The Poem Reader ·

2022/11/26

My soul doth sing and my heart doth leap,When I catch sight of compost heap. Let me explain what there is to behold In this putrefying, festering mound of mould. Cut grass and leaves, bygone meals, Old tea bags, stale bread, potato peel, Bananas turned black and egg shells galore, All coated in powdery-blue fungal spore. All those things you don’t want, you just throw them here And nutritious soil will appear in a year Thanks to worms and ants, beetles and lice. It is a creepy crawly paradise.

1:15

Because I could not stop for Death

The Poem Reader ·

2022/11/19

Because I could not stop for Death —He kindly stopped for me —The Carriage held but just Ourselves —And Immortality.We slowly drove — He knew no hasteAnd I had put awayMy labor and my leisure too,For His Civility —We passed the School, where Children stroveAt Recess — in the Ring —We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain —We passed the Setting Sun —Or rather — He passed Us —The Dews drew quivering and Chill —For only Gossamer, my Gown —My Tippet — only Tulle —We paused before a House that seemedA

1:06

Anthem for Doomed Youth

The Poem Reader ·

2022/11/12

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? — Only the monstrous anger of the guns. Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle Can patter out their hasty orisons. No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells; Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs,— The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells; And bugles calling for them from sad shires. What candles may be held to speed them all? Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes Shall shine the holy glimmers of

1:09

The Fifth of November

The Poem Reader ·

2022/11/05

Remember, remember! The fifth of November, The Gunpowder treason and plot; I know of no reason Why the Gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot! Guy Fawkes and his companions Did the scheme contrive, To blow the King and Parliament All up alive. Threescore barrels, laid below, To prove old England's overthrow. But, by God's providence, him they catch, With a dark lantern, lighting a match! A stick and a stake For King James's sake! If you won't give me

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