From a 19th-Century copy of CROWN JEWELS (or Gems of Literature, Art, and Music …) compiled by Henry Davenport Northrop and published by Pennsylvania Publishing Company in 1887, I plucked this wee riddle poem by Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), then gave it the artsyletters mini collage treatment.
On the Vowels
by Jonathan Swift
We are little airy creatures,
All of different voice and features:
One of us in glass is set,
One of us you’ll find in jet;
T’other you may see in tin,
And the fourth a box within;
If the fifth you should pursue,
It can never fly from you.
I thought those “little airy creatures” would pair well with some old lace! Though the blocky midcentury brass letters are anything but airy, I suppose – so here’s to a little contrast! You can find this 4X6 mini shadowbox collage here.
