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The Common Cormorant -- Christopher Isherwood

       
(Poem #1111) The Common Cormorant
 The common cormorant (or shag)
 Lays eggs inside a paper bag,
 You follow the idea, no doubt?
 It's to keep the lightning out.

 But what these unobservant birds
 Have never thought of, is that herds
 Of wandering bears might come with buns
 And steal the bags to hold the crumbs.
-- Christopher Isherwood
What I like even more than this poem's inspired silliness is the absolutely
deadpan manner in which it is delivered. Even Silverstein's "Recipe for a
Hippopotamus Sandwich" [Poem #845], of which today's poem is strongly
reminiscent, didn't exude that tone of perfect reasonableness, that air of
merely elaborating on a well-known fact.

Is this a children's poem? It certainly works as one - children are for the
most part deeply appreciative of whimsy and topsy-turvy logic. But so are
many adults, and something about the poem makes me think that the latter
were Isherwood's intended audience, though I can't quite pin it down.

martin

Links:

  I found today's poem at http://www.newtrix.com/poems/ci-corm.htm which
  has a biography and a photo of Isherwood.

76 comments: ( or Leave a comment )

Colin.Blowers said...

I was surprised to see this poem attributed to Christopher Isherwood. I've
always understood it to be by that most prolific writer, Anon.

It certainly is in 'Verse and Worse', edited by Arnold Silcock, (1963) and
goes like this:-

The common cormorant or shag
Lays eggs inside a paper bag,
The reason you will see no doubt -
It is to keep the lightning out.
But what these unobservant birds
Have never noticed is that herds
Of wandering bears may come with buns
And steal the bags to hold the crumbs.

Not a lot of difference, I agree, but at least the fourth line scans
properly.

Regards

Colin Blowers
UAT Tester

The Exchange
Munro House
Portsmouth Road
COBHAM
Surrey
KT11 1TE

Joanna Watson said...

Martin,

This is indeed a delightful poem. I learned it as a child of eight in 1962, so am surprised to see this attributed to Christopher Isherwood 1982. One of my sisters was asking for a copy of it yesterday, so I thought I'd check the punctuation before writing it out for her. I've arrived at your webpage via Google. I think that you got some of the words wrong; you have introduced some paraphrases. From my recollection, the words of the poem are as follows (I don't remember the punctuation):

The common cormorant or shag
Lays eggs inside a paper bag.
The reason you will see, no doubt,
It is to keep the lightning out.
But what these unobservant birds
Have never noticed is that herds
Of wandering bears may come with buns
And steal the bags to hold the crumbs.

Do you have access to an original source so that you can check this? If so, can you help me with the punctuation.

Best wishes,
Joanna Watson

Steve said...

I encountered this poem in a book of children's nonsense rhymes purchased for our children back in the '80s. Unfortunately, the book has disappeared but my recollection is a tad different than the versions so far presented.

The common cormorant (or shag)
Lays eggs inside a paper bag
The reason you will see, no doubt
It is to keep the lightning out!

But what these unobservant birds
Have failed to notice is
That herds of wandering bears may come, with buns
And steal the bags to hold the crumbs

This book, along with Shel Silverstein's "Where the Sidewalk Ends" were among my sons' favourites, and, of course, mine!
regards
Steve Adams
Gravenhurst, Ontario, Canada

Diana Wainman said...

I have been told recently that it is generally acknowledged to be the work of WH Auden - but I haven't been able to verify it.

Diana.

Barbara said...

Rehov Hankin 2/7
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Israel, 76354

I am now 68 years old, and learnt this wonderful poem when I was about 8 years old whilst attending City of London Girls School in London England.
Last night I awoke and repeated this poem to myself, but could not for the life of me remember what was being kept out by the bag being kept upside down!!!!!

Thank you so much, and thank God for being alive at this wonderful time of computers etc.

Barbara Pfeffer

Rod Bell said...

The Oxford Dictionary of quotations attributes this poem to Isherwood (b.1904, d.1986) and states it was written about 1925.

Alexa Wightman said...

The common cormorant or shag is a poem my brother and I were taught as children in the early 1950s. Though the words were slightly different the whole concept was the same. I met another person recently who had known it for a long time so unless Christopher Isherwood had penned it in the 50s I suspect name of the poet is still unknown.

The common cormorant or shag
lays eggs inside a paper bag.
The reason you may see no doubt
is to keep the lightning out.etc

in the second verse there is no might come about it it was will come ! Now that is a rather frightening thought!

I look forward to hearing about any other person of a certain age who have this poem in their family repertoire!

Mary Wightman

Anonymous said...

I learn t this poem in the mid sixties whilst in primary school.

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I have been told recently that it is generally acknowledged to be the work of WH Auden - but I haven't been able to verify it.

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I learn t this poem in the mid sixties whilst in primary school.

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My father told me this verse when I was little in the 1960s. I sometimes sing it to Mozart's Jolly Birdcatcher song (Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja).

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Anonymous said...

See Earl Wavell's Othe Men's Flowers anthology (1st pub 1944), from where I learned it 60 years ago.

Grant said...

Does anyone remember a parody of (or follow-up to) this poem about the shrike (presumably “butcher bird or”)? It had to do with bicycle spokes, but I can't find it on the Internet.

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