Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, WITH A COPY OF CALVERLEY, by FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

WITH A COPY OF CALVERLEY, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: When, lady, you applaud my rhymes
Last Line: Me up!
Alternate Author Name(s): F. P. A.
Subject(s): Poetry & Poets


WHEN, lady, you applaud my rhymes
Appearing in the public prints,
(As you have done a dozen times),
I wince.

A bead (or two) bepearls my brow;
I modestly say "Pooh!" or "Tush!"
I'd blush, I think, if I knew how
To blush.

Once, when your praise was too absurd,
I spoke of Calverley. With vim
And scorn you said: "I never heard
Of him."

Tottered my reason, shook my nerve,
I stifled an uprising sob.
"Has she," I wondered, "heard of Irv-
In Cobb?"

Take, lady, then, this blithesome book—
My friend, philosopher, and guide—
And don't, I pray, forget to look
Inside.

How fair the rhymes! The verse how fresh!
Like "one clear harp in divers tones."
Read "Flight," "Forever,"—oh, read "Prec-
Ious Stones"!

Here, all this treasured tome throughout,
Shall you find undiluted joy.
You, in your classic phrase, will shout
"Oh, boy!"

Yet pricks the thorn upon the rose;
And lurks the wormwood in the cup:
Calverley. ... Lady, how he shows
Me up!





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