My son, Christopher Alan, was supposed to be Christopher Robin. Unfortunately, his father objected strenuously no matter how often I told him "Robin" was a boy's name. Well it doesn't matter what the birth certificate says, Christopher Alan really thinks his name is Christopher Robin.
He got that name simply because when I was five and wanted a life somewhere near normal, books were my companions and there was a poem in my Childcraft set written by A.A. Milne. Years later there was a song by Kenny Loggins. The two items together have made me grateful to Milne for a lifetime. Today is the anniversary of Milne's January 18 birth. In honor of that I give you:
Vespers
A. A. Milne
Little boy kneels at the foot of the bed,
Droops on his little hands little gold head.
Hush hush, whisper. Who dares?
Christopher Robin is saying his prayers:
"God bless Mommy, I know that's right,
And wasn't it fun in the bath tonight,
The cold's so cold and the hot's so hot.
God bless Daddy, I quite forgot.
If I open my eyes just a little bit more
I can see Nanny's dressing-gown on the door;
It's a beautiful blue but it hasn't got a hood,
God bless Nanny and make her good.
Mine has a hood and I lie in bed
And I pull the hood right over my head,
And I shut my eyes and I curl up small
And nobody knows that I'm there at all.
Thank you God, for a lovely day,
And what was the other I wanted to say?
I said, `Bless Daddy', so what could it be?
Now I remember: God bless me".
Little boy kneels at the foot of the bed,
Droops on his little hands on little gold head.
Hush hush, whisper. Who dares?
Christopher Robin is saying his prayers
7 comments:
This was so beautiful....I have always loved Milne..and Pooh...and so grateful to have him as a part of my life and read to me by grandmother ( I still have the copy) and I have always loved the Kenny Loggins song- there is also a Followup song- I will try to find and post this weekend.....I have still being lurking here...and coming via a connection from Craigs...I have to work on my Blogroll this weekend- some have been funked since ???? I also think I am doing a Blog Round up Friday- and am adding this it is so touching.....thank you, this made my whole day.....
( my nickname growing up was Poohbear....too, my sis was Piglet...)
I am so glad that you were able to share the wonders of this with your son...
Thank you. I truly enjoy your blog and hope some of your visitors will enjoy mine.
Jamie,
You can see the original Winnie the Pooh stuffed animals that inspired the book at a library in Manhattan. I forget which library but I've been there and saw them.
Alan,
Yes I knew about the original Christopher Robin. I suppose that is the difference between reading a story and living it.
Rob,
I would love to see them. If the illustrations I found for the book are any indication, they probably look more traditional British Bear such as Paddington than Disney's version.
Jamie,
Yes, they look very much like the Paddington Bear. You can see more Here
Thank you for posting "Vespers"! Reading your intro I wanted to let you know that I have a cousin who lives in Weston-Super-Mer, a retired Anglican priest named Christopher Robin Vincent. He is a very gentle soul.
Thank you for stopping by. There is something about the name that seems to impart empathy to the men who wear it.
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