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Buckingham Palace

by A. A. Milne
From When We Were Very Young (1924)

They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace—
  Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
  Alice is marrying one of the guard.
  “A soldier’s life is terrible hard,”
      Says Alice.

  They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace—
  Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
  We saw a guard in a sentry-box.
  “One of the sergeants looks after their socks,”
      Says Alice.

  They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace—
  Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
  We looked for the King, but he never came.
  “Well, God take care of him, all the same,”
      Says Alice.

  They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace—
  Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
  They’ve great big parties inside the grounds.
  “I wouldn’t be King for a hundred pounds,”
      Says Alice.

  They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace—
  Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
  A face looked out, but it wasn’t the King’s.
  “He’s much too busy a-signing things,”
      Says Alice.

  They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace—
  Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
  “Do you think the King knows all about me?”
  “Sure to, dear, but it’s time for tea,”
      Says Alice.

This poem is in the public domain. Source text: Project Gutenberg.

More poems by A. A. Milne

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