John had
 Great Big
 Waterproof
 Boots on;
 John had a
 Great Big
 Waterproof
 Hat;
 John had a
 Great Big
 Waterproof
 Mackintosh --
 And that
 (Said John)
 Is
 That.

I like this poem because of the simple way it rolls off the tongue. It’s orderly because of its simplicity and non-verbosity.

Robert Fulghum has this to say about this poem in his book Words I Wish I Wrote: “If you live for a long time, as I have, in the Pacific Northwest, where it rains all winter long, you cherish the feeling of being warm and dry and still out in the weather. This poem expresses that sense of well-being. A child understands. In the quest for God, when you find out there there is nowhere God is not and that you are as much a part of the universe as the
farthest star, you have a sense of well-being not unlike the child in this poem. That is that. I often recited this to my children before a meal or at bedtime. It’s not a prayer. It’s a state of being, understood by a child of six or sixty.”

That, I think, is all the analysis that is needed. :)

— Mel

Minstrels Links

A. A. Milne:
Poem #91, Cottleston Pie
Poem #463, Disobedience
Poem #562, The King’s Breakfast
Poem #576, Tra-la-la, tra-la-la
Poem #1022, Buckingham Palace
Poem #1051, Happiness