Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, SONG OF A SEABOOT STOCKING, by O. I. WARD


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

SONG OF A SEABOOT STOCKING, by                    
First Line: Knit, knit, knit, in the watches of the night
Last Line: While overhead the fire guard keep their watch o'er london town.
Subject(s): Air Raids; Air Warfare; Knitting; London; World War Ii; Second World War


Knit, knit, knit, in the watches of the night,
Plain, purl, plain, purl, beneath a dim blue light;
With Dorniers droning overhead and crashing guns below,
A seaboot stocking lengthens out, row upon weary row.

Knit, knit, knit, in shelters all day long;
The stocking's getting dirty, the pattern's going wrong,
The oiled wool slithers off the pins, the stitches disappear
As I hastily retrieve them, just in time for the All Clear.

Knit, knit, knit, in London's Underground;
The snores are rising from the bunks, the cocoa's coming round;
The last train has just rumbled through, the shelterers shake down
While overhead the Fire Guard keep their watch o'er London Town.





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