The Ingenious Little Old Man by John Bennett

A little old man of the sea

Went out in a boat for a sail:

The water came in

Almost up to his chin

And he had nothing with which to bail.

But this little old man of the sea

Just drew out his jack-knife so stout,

And a hole with its blade

In the bottom he made,

So that all of the water ran out

Windy Nights by Robert Louis Stevenson

Whenever the moon and stars are set,

Whenever the wind is high,

All night long in the dark and wet,

A man goes riding by.

Late in the night when the fires are out,

Why does he gallop and gallop about?

Whenever the trees are crying aloud,

And ships are tossed at sea,

By, on the highway, low and loud,

By at the gallop goes he.

By at the gallop he goes, and then

By he comes back at the gallop again.

Dreams by Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow.