THE SWING BY ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

How do you like to go up in a swing,

Up in the air so blue?

Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing

Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,

Till I can see so wide,

River and trees and cattle and all

Over the countryside -

Till I look down on the garden green,

Down on the roof so brown - 

Up the air I go flying again, 

Up in the air and down

The Swing

~Robert Louis Stevenson 

(1850 - 1894)

“Robert Louis Stevenson - born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson (November 13th, 1850 - 3rd December, 1894) - was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as Treasure Island, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Kidnapped and A Child’s Garden of Verses.  Born and educated in Edinburgh, Stevenson suffered from serious bronchial trouble for much of his life, but continued to write prolifically and travel widely in defiance of his poor health. As a young man he mixed in London literary circles, receiving encouragement from Sidney Colvin, Andrew Lang, Edmund Gosse, Leslie Stephen and W. E. Henley, the last of whom may have provided the model of Long John Silver in Treasure Island. In 1890 he settled in Samoa where, alarmed at increasing European and American influence in the South Sea Islands, his writing turned from romance and adventure fiction towards a darker realism. He died of a stroke in his island home in 1894 at age 44. A celebrity in his lifetime, Stevenson’s critical reputation has fluctuated since his death, though today his works are held in general acclaim. In 2018 he was ranked just behind Charles Dickens as the 26th most translated author in the world.”  He was such an amazing and fascinating man  I read the above information and much more at this link.