Disobedience
A A Milne, 'Disobedience'
James James
Morrison Morrison
Weatherby George Dupree
Took great
Care of his Mother,
Though he was only three.
James James Said to his Mother,
“Mother,” he said, said he;
“You must never go down
To the end of the town,
If you don’t go down with me.”
***********
James James
Morrison’s Mother
Put on a golden gown.
James James Morrison’s Mother
Drove to the end of the town.
James James Morrison’s Mother
Said to herself, said she:
“I can get right down
To the end of the town
And be back in time for tea.”
***********
King John
Put up a notice,
“LOST or STOLEN or STRAYED!
JAMES JAMES MORRISON’S MOTHER
SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN MISLAID.
LAST SEEN
WANDERING VAGUELY:
QUITE OF HER OWN ACCORD,
SHE TRIED TO GET DOWN
TO THE END OF THE TOWN –
FORTY SHILLINGS REWARD!”
***********
James James
Morrison Morrison
(Commonly known as Jim)
Told his
Other relations
Not to go blaming him.
James James
Said to his Mother,
“Mother,” he said, said he:
“You must never go down to the end of the town
Without consulting me.”
***********
James James
Morrison’s mother
Hasn’t been heard of since.
King John said he was sorry,
So did the Queen and Prince.
King John
(Somebody told me)
Said to a man he knew:
If people go down to the end of the town, well,
What can anyone do?”
***********
(Now then, very softly)
J. J.
M. M.
W. G. Du P.
Took great
C/0 his M*****
Though he was only 3.
J. J. said to his M*****
“M*****,” he said, said he:
“You-must-never-go-down-to-the-end-of-the-town-
If-you-don’t-go-down-with-ME!”
About the author
A A Milne (1882-1956) was the author of the Winnie-the-Pooh books and several volumes of poetry for children, including When We Were Very Young (1924), in which this poem appears.
To Read Alongside...
We love the way the final stanza of 'Disobedience' plays with language, and it's fun to read alongside Charles C. Bombaugh’s playful “Essay to Miss Catharine Jay” from his nineteenth-century miscellany Gleanings From The Harvest-Fields of Literature (we've given a bit of it below; see the full poem at https://www.gutenberg.org/files/56805/56805-h/56805-h.htm#c92).
ESSAY TO MISS CATHARINE JAY
An S A now I mean 2 write
2 U sweet K T J,
The girl without a ||,
The belle of U T K.
I 1 der if U got that 1
I wrote 2 U B 4
I sailed in the R K D A,
And sent by L N Moore.
My M T head will scarce contain
A calm I D A bright
But A T miles from U I must
M︷ this chance 2 write.
[...]
Now fare U well, dear K T J,
I trust that U R true—
When this U C, then you can say,
An S A I O U.
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