English Poems for Beginners

The lesson is aimed at beginner to intermediate students to help them read English better.

A was an apple-pie; B bit it; C cut it; D dealt it; E ate it; F fought for it; G got it; H had it; J joined it; K kept it; L longed for it: M mourned for it; N nodded at it; O opened it; P peeped into it; Q quartered it; R ran for it; S stole it; T took it; V viewed it; W wanted it; X, Y, Z, and amperse-and, All wished for a piece in hand.

Little drop of dew, Like a gem you are; I believe that you Must have been a star. When the day is bright, On the grass you lie; Tell me then, at night Are you in the sky?

Bow, wow, wow, Whose dog art thou? Little Tom Tinker's dog, Bow, wow, wow.

Ding dong bell, The cat's in the well! Who put her in?— Little Johnny Green. Who pulled her out?— Big Johnny Stout. What a naughty boy was that To drown poor pussy cat, Who never did him any harm, But killed the mice in his father's barn!

When I spin round without a stop And keep my balance like the top, I find that soon the floor will swim Before my eyes; and then, like him, I lie all dizzy on the floor Until I feel like spinning more.

Hickory, dickory, dock, The mouse ran up the clock, The clock struck one, The mouse ran down; Hickory, dickory, dock.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall; Threescore men and threescore more Cannot place Humpty Dumpty as he was before.

Hush-a-bye, baby, on the tree-top, When the wind blows, the cradle will rock, When the bough bends, the cradle will fall, Down will come baby, bough, cradle, and all.

Jack and Jill went up the hill, To fetch a pail of water; Jack fell down, and broke his crown, And Jill came tumbling after.

Little boy blue, come blow your horn, The sheep's in the meadow, the cow's in the corn; Where's the little boy that tends the sheep? He's under the haycock, fast asleep. Go wake him, go wake him. Oh, no, not I; For if I awake him, he'll certainly cry.

Little girl, little girl, where have you been? Gathering roses to give to the queen. Little girl, little girl, what gave she you? She gave me a diamond as big as my shoe.

Little Johnny Pringle had a little pig; It was very little, so was not very big. As it was playing beneath the shed, In half a minute poor Piggie was dead. So Johnny Pringle he sat down and cried, And Betty Pringle she lay down and died. There is the history of one, two, and three, Johnny Pringle, Betty Pringle, and Piggie Wiggie.

Three wise men of Gotham Went to sea in a bowl; If the bowl had been stronger, My song would have been longer.

Thank you pretty cow, that made Pleasant milk to soak my bread, Every day and every night, Warm, and fresh, and sweet, and white. Do not chew the hemlock rank, Growing on the weedy bank; But the yellow cowslips eat, That will make it very sweet. Where the purple violet grows, Where the bubbling water flows, Where the grass is fresh and fine. Pretty cow, go there and dine.

Solomon Grundy, Born on a Monday, Christened on Tuesday, Married on Wednesday, Took ill on Thursday, Worse on Friday, Died on Saturday, Buried on Sunday: This is the end Of Solomon Grundy.

The King of France went up the hill, With twenty thousand men; The King of France came down the hill, And ne'er went up again.

Wee Willie Winkie Runs through the town, Upstairs and downstairs, In his night-gown; Tapping at the window, Crying at the lock, "Are the babes in their bed? For it's now ten o'clock."

What are the songs the mother sings? Of birds and flowers and pretty things; Baby lies in her arms and spies All his world in the mother's eyes. What are the tales the mother tells? Of gems and jewels and silver bells; Baby lies in her arms and spies All his wealth in the mother's eyes. What are the thoughts in the mother's mind? Of the gentle Saviour, loving and kind; Baby lies in her arms and spies All his heaven in the mother's eyes.

Father! father! where are you going? Oh, do not walk so fast. Speak, father speak to your little boy, Or else I shall be lost. The night was dark, no father was there; The child was wet with dew; The mire was deep and the child did weep, And away the vapor flew.

Every day brings a ship, Every ship brings a word; Well for those who have no fear, Looking seaward well assured That the word the vessel brings Is the word they wish to hear.

It was an old, old, old, old lady, And a boy that was half past three; And the way that they played together Was beautiful to see. She couldn't go running and jumping, And the boy, no more could he; For he was a thin little fellow, With a thin little twisted knee. They sat in the yellow sunlight, Out under the maple-tree; And the game that they played I'll tell you, Just as it was told to me. It was Hide-and-Go-Seek they were playing, Though you'd never have known it to be— With an old, old, old, old lady, And a boy with a twisted knee. The boy would bend his face down On his one little sound right knee, And he'd guess where she was hiding, In guesses One, Two, Three! "You are in the china-closet!" He would cry, and laugh with glee— It wasn't the china-closet; But he still had Two and Three. "You are up in Papa's big bedroom, In the chest with the queer old key!" And she said: "You are warm and warmer; But you're not quite right," said she. "It can't be the little cupboard Where Mamma's things used to be— So it must be the clothes-press, Gran'ma!" And he found her with his Three. Then she covered her face with her fingers, That were wrinkled and white and wee, And she guessed where the boy was hiding, With a One and a Two and a Three. And they never had stirred from their places, Right under the maple-tree— This old, old, old, old lady, And the boy with the lame little knee— This dear, dear, dear old lady, And the boy who was half past three.

The students read easy-to-understand poems in English.