If Ever I Had a Country : Xvii and Xviii
IF EVER I HAD A COUNTRY : XVII - XVIII
XVII
IF ever I had a country
And if ever I were the Minister of Education
I'd make every child take an Oath of Nature upon leaving school in June
That every kid learn by heart by autumn ten local birds' tune
The Garden Warbler's varied repertoire the toot-toot of the Owl under the moon
To tell which Wood-Pecker drummed which tree out-of-tune
That is, if ever I were the Minister of Education
And even if I never ever had no country
XVIII
If ever I had a country
And if ever I were the Secretary of HEW
I'd make it a certified condition for the leaving of school
Only when every teen acquired the skill of notation as a musical tool
To stock his memory with quarrelsome magpie curses or soothing cuckoo calls cool
And let no carrion crow flutter at school-top eaves calling him a fool
That is, if ever I were the Secretary of HEW
And even if I never ever had no country
© T. Wignesan - Paris, July 6, 2018
Copyright © T Wignesan | Year Posted 2018
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