* * *
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>
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* * *
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 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 —Will there really be a "Morning"?
Is there such a thing as "Day"?
Could I see it from the mountains
If I were as tall as they?
Has it feet like Water lilies?
Has it feathers like a Bird?
Is it brought from famous countries
Of which I have never heard?
Oh some Scholar!...