Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE HEADLINER AND THE BREADWINNER, by ROBERT WILLIAM SERVICE


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE HEADLINER AND THE BREADWINNER, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Moko, the educated ape is here
Last Line: "moko's, the blest, the educated ape."
Subject(s): Animals; Apes; Monkeys; Gorillas; Chimpanzees; Gibbons; Orangutans


Moko, the Educated Ape is here,
The pet of vaudeville, so the posters say,
And every night the gaping people pay
To see him in his panoply appear;
To see him pad his paunch with dainty cheer,
Puff his perfecto, swill champagne, and sway
Just like a gentleman, yet all in play,
Then bow himself off stage with brutish leer.

And as to-night, with noble knowledge crammed,
I 'mid this human compost take my place,
I, once a poet, now so dead and damned,
The woeful tears half freezing on my face:
"O God!" I cry, "let me but take his shape,
Moko's, the Blest, the Educated Ape."






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