As night strikes, the people lie

Covered in wool and warm

The blackness seeps through drafty corners

The house is dark and bleak


Eyes close, breaths sigh

The mind submits to slumber land

Waiting, waiting, in the corners

Nearly time to play


ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, limbs stretch, eyes flicker!

FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT, little mouths bear china teeth!

NINE, TEN, ELEVEN, TWELVE! Many little voices shout!

“OUT! OUT! OUT TO PLAY! OUT! OUT! OUT!”


Fluffy rabbits, wicked goblins, pewter soldiers, Indian braves

Marching! Marching! Dancing! Dancing! Stomping! Stomping! Screaming! Screaming!

Clasping hands and tossing heads! The noise builds, and then they whisper—

“It is time to play at last.”


Dolls dance in twos and threes

And saunter up to warring men

Who toast the dolls with ale and brandy

Drinking through the night



Wrestlers fight and the animals frolic

Laughter fills the cool night air

The crowd whirls, the lights are bright

Play, Play, Play, Play!


Towering bears chase little hares

They bat each other with playful spite

Gaels and Galls lay down their armor

And tap dance in the lantern light


Peasant girls do last night’s wash

The rhythm pulses, they move as one

Yankee boys find sticks and stones

And play some ball in the illuminant night


They shout! They scream! They romp! They roar!

They prance! They dance! They laugh! They sing!

All is fun and all is laughter!

They are the glorious Nightly Beings!


But playtime must be over soon

The yellow sun shows its smiling face

Scurry, Scurry, ‘til next night! Now hurry!

Not a single, happy trace