Tuesday, June 05, 2007

One is

Some count ten, some eleven

And some don’t go past seven

There is sometimes joy and mirth

There are weddings and births

.

Some tell of Silver

And some take your gold

Others will keep quiet

Their secrets untold

.

Some tell of rich and others poor

Some wish, some kiss

Some offer heaven and some hell

And some will for joyous bliss

.

A number for laughing

Another for crying

Yet another for sickness

And one more for dying

.

Some offer a girl

Some offer a boy

And even the Devil's own self.

Some foretell witches

And some foretell wealth

.

But

About all they agree on

Is

One is for sorrow

9 comments:

aria said...

"Some wish, some kiss"
Nice .. but if one is for sorrow two is for joy.. isn't it ? So for "one" sorrow there should be "two" joys :)

Inconsequential said...

I was looking up the magpie counting rhyme for my daughter and discovered quite a few variations.

two is often for mirth...

and the only consistent one seems to be sorrow...

It's an augury, so you need to see two birds before you get your joy…
:)

Jay said...

One is the loneliest number, but it seems so often to be accompanied by this sorrow.

Jay said...

One is the loneliest number, but it seems so often to be accompanied by this sorrow.

aria said...

We had learned it as "one for sorrow, two for joy, three for letter, four for toy" but when we were in high school we conveniently changed "toy" to "boy"! Wonder what the boys did. :D

Inconsequential said...

ours was
one for sorrow
two for joy
three a girl
four boy
silver
gold
secret never told...

we never went past seven.
yet my grandma told me eleven was a secret never told, but never told the whole of her version.

Inconsequential said...

Jay - I've never linked one and sorrow.

1 is strength
1 is freedom
1 is independant.

2 can be sorrow, if not more so, and a weakness, and confining...

3 more so... at least you chose not to go for a 3.

Pod said...

not to mention the things you had to do to cancel out the superstition if you saw just one. i was forever nodding three times, spitting in my habd and saying 'hello mr magpie how's your wife and children?'
was that just me?

Inconsequential said...

to cancel the sorrow we just had to wave at mr magpie, just to let him know we know, you know.