I am not sure when I first fell in love with poetry. I guess it started with nursery rhymes. But I can remember being very young and hearing my older sister recite the poem below. I still love it!

Hist!

Hist! . . . . . . Hark!
The night is very dark,
And we’ve to go a mile or so
Across the Possum Park.

Step . . . . . . light,
Keeping to the right;
If we delay, and lose our way,
We’ll be out half the night.
The clouds are low and gloomy. Oh!
It’s just begun to mist!
We haven’t any overcoats
And – Hist! . . . . . . Hist!

(Mo . . . . . . poke!)
Who was that that spoke?
This is not a fitting spot
To make a silly joke.

Dear . . . . . . me!
A mopoke in a tree!
It jarred me so, I didn’t know
Whatever it could be.
But come along; creep along;
Soon we shall be missed.
They’ll get a scare and wonder where
We – Hush! . . . . . . Hist!

Ssh! . . . . . . Soft!
I’ve told you oft and oft
We should not stray so far away
Without a moon aloft.

Oo! . . . . . . Scat!
Goodness! What was that?
Upon my word, it’s quite absurd,
It’s only just a cat.
But come along; haste along;
Soon we’ll have to rush,
Or we’ll be late and find the gate
Is – Hist! . . . . . . Hush!

(Kok!. . . . . . Korrock!)
Oh! I’ve had a shock!
I hope and trust it’s only just
A frog behind a rock.

Shoo! . . . . . . Shoo!
We’ve had enough of you;
Scaring folk just for a joke
Is not the thing to do.
But come along, slip along –
Isn’t it a lark
Just to roam so far from home
On – Hist! . . . . . . Hark!

Look! . . . . . . See!
Shining through the tree,
The window-light is glowing bright
To welcome you and me.

Shout! . . . . . . Shout!
There’s someone round about,
And through the door I see some more
And supper all laid out.
Now, Run! Run! Run!
Oh, we’ve had such splendid fun –
Through the park in the dark,
As brave as anyone.

Laughed, we did, and chaffed, we did,
And whistled all the way,
And we’re home again! Home again!
Hip . . . . . . Hooray!

https://allpoetry.com/poem/8486923-Hist–by-C-J-Dennis© by owner.

Falling in love with words for how beautifully and powerfully they can be constructed came a little later. And story telling, the greatest of tools used in teaching and learning, is common across all peoples, regardless of the language used. Parables are simply a story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson. We know them from the Bible, but the concept of a parable is still applicable for modern times to a story which carries a deeper message.

In this series of blogs I will share some of my own writings, discuss the power of words and share some poems, stories and parables which speak to me. We are all both teachers and students. I hope you will join me in this series; Poetry, Prose and Parable and trust we will find some art, heart, beauty, power, passion and wisdom.