Moon Song
For as long as I've known her, the flower_cat has been fond of quoting a couple of lines from a poem she heard as a child. It finally occurred to me to type one of the more distinctive lines into Google, which of course yielded the complete poem both by itself and in a blog post (which mentions that it appeared in The Golden Book of Poetry published in 1949), along with a discussion thread on The Mudcat Cafe. Apparently it has also been set to music at least once, and sung in a number of variously mangled versions.
Moon Song
Zoon, zoon, cuddle and croon-- Over the crinkling sea, The moon man flings him a silvered net Fashioned of moonbeams three. And some folk say when the net lies long And the midnight hour is ripe; The moon man fishes for some old song That fell from a sailor's pipe. And some folk say that he fishes the bars Down where the dead ships lie, Looking for lost little baby stars That slid from the slippery sky. And the waves roll out and the waves roll in And the nodding night wind blows, But why the moon man fishes the sea Only the moon man knows. Zoon, zoon, net of the moon Rides on the wrinkling sea; Bright is the fret and shining wet, Fashioned of moonbeams three. And some folk say when the great net gleams And the waves are dusky blue, The moon man fishes for two little dreams He lost when the world was new. And some folk say in the late night hours, While the long fin-shadows slide, The moon man fishes for cold sea flowers Under the tumbling tide. And the waves roll out and the waves roll in And the gray gulls dip and doze, But why the moon man fishes the sea Only the moon man knows. Zoon, zoon, cuddle and croon-- Over the crinkling sea, The moon man flings him a silvered net Fashioned of moonbeams three. And some folk say that he follows the flecks Down where the last light flows, Fishing for two round gold-rimmed "specs" That blew from his button-like nose. And some folk say while the salt sea foams And the silver net lines snare, The moon man fishes for carven combs That float from the mermaids' hair. And the waves roll out and the waves roll in And the nodding night wind blows, But why the moon man fishes the sea Only the moon man knows. Mildred Plew Meigs, 1923
Note on copyright status: The poem was made into an illustrated children's book in 1991. Amazon's page helpfully adds that it originally appeared in Child Life in 1923. The author, Mildred Plew Merryman (nee Miegs), died in 1944. So according to the copyright help page on Wikisource, it is one year newer than the point before which it would be undisputably in the public domain. Not having been published before 1923, it's public domain only if copyright was not renewed. Who knows? The copyright renewal search engine lists several works from Child Life Magazine, but not this one, but it's possible that the magazine's copyright was renewed as a whole. I'm probably safe. In any case, it enters the public domain 70 years after Mrs. Merryman's death, which would be 2014.
Don't get me started on my copyright rant.