Poetry Wednesday

By Judith

For today’s Poetry Wednesday, we’re going to look at a song lyric. “Moonlight in Vermont” was written and published in 1943 by John Blackburn and Karl Suessdorf.

Most of the popular songs of this era were of simple form that rhymed either in couplets or the 1st and 3rd, 2nd and 4th lines of a verse. Take a look at this lyric – not a rhyme to be had. In addition, the verses are haiku: each three-line verse is in a 5-7-5 syllable format.

To enjoy this lovely lyric even more, let Frank Sinatra interpret it for you.

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Moonlight in Vermont

Pennies in a stream
Falling leaves a sycamore
Moonlight in Vermont

Icy finger waves
Ski trails down a mountain side
Snowlight in Vermont

Telegraph cables, they sing down the highway
And travel each bend in the road
People who meet in this romantic setting
Are so hypnotized by the lovely...

Evening summer breeze
Warbling of a meadowlark
Moonlight in Vermont