[Maddaddam]

Early in the morning, middle of the night, two dead boys got up to fight.
They stood back to back facing each other,
Drew their swords and shot each other.
Two deaf cops heard the noise,
went & killed (shot?) the two dead boys.
If you don't think this story's true, ask the blind man, he saw it, too.

I believe it's by a poet, educator named Hughes Mearns but I can't find it any where.Any help would be great! Thanks & have a great day!

[Gem_22205]

This has brought back so many memories of sitting around the camp fire as my great-grandfather would recite this to us. Just the tone of his voice would scare us to no end. There has been many different versions taught over the years. I have provided a link I found years ago which may help in your search in finding if Hughes Mearns actually is the original author.

"One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night".

Hope this helps.

[Thesexyjessica]

ooh! That was on the haunting in Connecticut. Sorry that was random but I don't know...

[urbancowgirl7]

William Hughes Mearns wrote the poem "Antigonish", which starts "As I was going up the stairs, I saw a man who wasn't there. He wasn't there again today. Oh, how I wish he'd go away. The poem that the OP is asking about ... the one that goes "Early in the morning, middle of the night", is actually a folk lore poem that has several variations and no real author. Hope this helps!

[roxypox]

This verse is listed as author unknown, but a Google search gave me an interesteing link (although it is wikipedia, so some caution as to the content of the page.) it is about this type of verse in general and holds some interesting information... (nonesense verse)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonsense_verse

I also found a link that contains different versions of this poem:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...7162855AArZFGu

[roxypox]

LOL wanted to add this version, although it is in my second link:


Ladies and Gentlemen, skinny and stout,
I'll tell you a tale I know nothing about;
The Admission is free, so pay at the door,
Now pull up a chair and sit on the floor.

One fine day in the middle of the night,
Two dead boys got up to fight;
Back to back they faced each other,
Drew their swords and shot each other.

A blind man came to watch fair play,
A mute man came to shout "Horray!"
A deaf policeman heard the noise and
Came to stop those two dead boys.

He lived on the corner in the middle of the block,
In a two-story house on a vacant lot;
A man with no legs came walking by,
And kicked the lawman in his thigh.

He crashed through a wall without making a sound,
Into a dry creek bed and suddenly drowned;
The long black hearse came to cart him away,
But he ran for his life and is still gone today.

I watched from the corner of the big round table,
The only eyewitness to facts of my fable;
But if you doubt my lies are true,
Just ask the blind man, he saw it too.