IF e'er my rhyming be at fault, If e'er I chance to scribble dope, If that my metre ever halt, I err in company with Pope. An that my grammar go awry, An that my English be askew, Sooth, I can prove an alibi -- The Bard of Avon did it too. If often toward the bottled grape My errant fancy fondly turns, Remember, leering jackanape, I err in company with Burns. If now and then I sigh "Mine own!" Unto another's wedded wife, Remember, I am not alone -- Hast ever read Lord Byron's Life? If frequently I fret and fume, And absolutely will not smile, I err in company with Hume, Old Socrates and T. Carlyle. If e'er I fail in etiquette, And foozle on The Proper Stuff Regarding manners, don't forget A. Tennyson's were pretty tough. Eke if I err upon the side Of talking overmuch of Me, I err, it cannot be denied, In most illustrious company. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SPEAKING TERMS by JAMES GALVIN HIDE AND SEEK by SARA TEASDALE THE LAMENTATION OF GLUMDALCLITCH FOR THE LOSS OF GRILDRIG by ALEXANDER POPE MAY (1) by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI HARMOSAN by RICHARD CHENEVIX TRENCH AN ARMY CORPS ON THE MARCH by WALT WHITMAN CASSANDRA SOUTHWICK; 1658 by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER SONNET WRITTEN IN THE FALL OF 1914: 1 by GEORGE EDWARD WOODBERRY |