There is a man I knowIndrawn from human kind.His dearest friends are books;Yet oh how glad he talksTo birds and trees and brooksOn lonely walks.He takes the same still wayBy grove and hill and sea;He lives that each new dayMay like the last one be.He hates all kinds of change;His step is sure and slow:Though…
At night, I fear, I fight for breath,And wake up whiter than a spook;And crawl off to a bistro near,And drink until my brain is clear.Rare Absinthe! Oh, it gives me strengthTo write and write; and so I spendDay after day, until at lengthWith joy and pain I’ll write The End:Then let this carcase rot;…
Amid a million words he soughtThe sole one that would do.He wandered on from pub to pubYet never ceased to seekWith burning brain and pencil stubThe Word Unique.Said he: ‘I’ll nail it down or die.Oh Heaven help me, pray!’And then a heavy car dashed by,And he was in the way.They rushed him to the hospital,And…
And as I sit behind his backHis beefy neck I view.Yet let me whisper, though you mayThink me a queer old cuss,From Claude I often sneak awayTo board a bus.A democrat, I love the crowd,The bustle and the din;The market wives who gab aloudAs they go out and in.I chuckle as I pay my dime,With…
Who lived with zest,Whose work was done,Reward, dear Lord,Thy weary son:May he be blestWith peace and rest,Nor wake again,Amen.
And thought as he enjoyed her charmsOf his fiancée Jill.‘Poor dear,’ he sighed, ‘she dreams of me,I shouldn’t act like this;But after all, she cannot see,And ignorance is bliss.’Yet Jill at that same moment wasIn Fred’s embrace close caught,And just a little sad becauseOf sweetheart Jack she thought.‘Poor dear,’ she sighed, ‘he loves me so,And…
I lay aside my lagging penAnd get to thinking on my neighbors;For, oh, around my garret denThere’s woe and poverty a-plenty,And life’s so interesting whenA lad is only two-and-twenty.Now, there’s that artist gaunt and wan,A little card his door adorning;It reads: ‘Je ne suis pour personne’,A very frank and fitting warning.I fear he’s in a…
For when he reared up in the airHo over-topped me by a head.He’d cuff me with his hefty paws,Jest like a puppy actin’ cute,And I would swear: by Gosh! he wasThe world’s most mighty malemute.But oh the grub that dog could eat!Yet he was never belly-tight;It almost broke me buying meatTo satisfy his appetite.Then came…
‘For if I had I’d be afraidOf your eternal jaw;Although at me you often shout,I’m undisturbed;To tell the truth I can’t make outA single word.’And it’s the same with others whoAttempt to gab at me;I listen to their point of viewAnd solemnly agree.To story stale and silly jokeStone deaf’s my ear;Each day a dozen stupid…
Yet paused at every second flightBecause my heart is scant of power;Then when I gained the sloping summitEarthward I stared, straight as a plummet.When like a phantom by my sideI saw a man cadaverous;At first I fancied him a guide,For dimly he addressed me thus:‘Sir, where you stand, Oh long ago!There also stood Galilleo.‘Proud Master…
