* * *
There was an old person of Slough,
Who danced at the end of a bough;
But they said, 'If you sneeze,
You might damage the trees,
You imprudent old person of Slough'.
<Publ. 1872>
-
-
* * *
There was an old person of Stroud,
Who was horribly jammed in a crowd;
Some she slew with a kick,
Some she scrunched with a stick,
That impulsive old person of Stroud.
<Publ. 1872> -
* * *
There was an old person of Wick,
Who said, 'Tick-a-Tick, Tick-a-Tick;
Chickabee, Chickabaw,'
And he said nothing more,
That laconic old person of Wick.
<Publ. 1872> -
* * *
There was an old person of Wilts,
Who constantly walked upon stilts;
He wreathed them with lilies,
And daffy-down-lilies,
That elegant person of Wilts.
<Publ. 1872> -
* * *
There was an Old Person whose habits,
Induced him to feed upon rabbits;
When he'd eaten eighteen,
He turned perfectly green,
Upon which he relinquished those habits.
<Publ. 1846> -
* * *
There was an Old Sailor of Compton,
Whose vessel a rock it once bump'd on;
The shock was so great,
that it damaged the pate,
Of that singular Sailor of Compton.
<Publ. 1846> -
* * *
There was on Old Man of the Isles,
Whose face was pervaded with smiles;
...There's been a Death, in the Opposite House,
As lately as Today —
I know it, by the numb look
Such Houses have — alway —
The Neighbors rustle in and out —
The Doctor — drives away —
A Window opens like a Pod —
Abrupt — mechanically —
Somebody flings a Mattress out —...There's something quieter than sleep
Within this inner room!
It wears a sprig upon its breast —
And will not tell its name.
Some touch it, and some kiss it —
Some chafe its idle hand —
It has a simple gravity
I do not understand!
I would not weep if I were they —...There's the Battle of Burgoyne —
Over, every Day,
By the Time that Man and Beast
Put their work away
"Sunset" sounds majestic —
But that solemn War
Could you comprehend it
You would chastened stare —