The Open Door (Brazilian Verses)

A poem by Rudyard Kipling

England is a cosy little country,
Excepting for the draughts along the floor.
And that is why you’re told,
When the passages are cold:
“Darling, you’ve forgot to shut the Door!”

The Awful East Wind blows it
Pussy or, the Hearthrug shows it,
Aunty at the Writing-table knows it
“Darling, you’ve forgot to shut the Door!”

Shut shut shut the Door, my darling!
Always shut the Door behind you, but
You can go when you are old
Where there isn’t any cold
So there isn’t any Door that need be shut!
And
The deep Verandah shows it
The pale Magnolia knows it
And the bold, white Trumpet-flower blows it:
There isn’t any Door that need be shut!

The piping Tree-toad knows it
The midnight Firefly shows it
And the Beams of the Moon disclose it:
There isn’t any Door that need be shut!

The milky Beaches know it
The silky Breezes blow it
And the Shafts of the Sunrise show it:
There isn’t any Door that need be shut!