I AM no gentleman, not I! No bowing, scraping thing! I bear my head more free and high Than titled count or king. I am no gentleman, not I! No, no, no! And only to one Lord on high My head I bow. I am no gentleman, not I! No vain and varnish'd thing! And from my heart, without a die, My honest thoughts I fling. I am no gentleman, not I! No, no, no! Our stout John Knox was none -- and why Should I be so? I am no gentleman, not I! No mincing, modish thing, In gay saloon a butterfly, Some wax-doll Miss to wing. I am no gentleman, not I! No, no, no! No moth, to sport in fashion's eye, A Bond Street beau. I am no gentleman, not I! No bully, braggart thing, With jockeys on the course to vie, With bull-dogs in the ring. I am no gentleman, not I! No, no, no! The working man might sooner die Than sink so low. I am no gentleman, not I! No star-bedizen'd thing! My fathers filch'd no dignity, By fawning to a king. I am no gentleman, not I! No, no, no! And to the wage of honesty My rank I owe. I am no gentleman, not I! No bowing, scraping thing! I bear my head more free and high Than titled count or king. I am no gentleman, not I! No, no, no! And thank the blessed God on high, Who made me so! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: MRS. PURKAPILE by EDGAR LEE MASTERS HERE LIES A LADY by JOHN CROWE RANSOM THE LAMP OF HERO by LOUISE VICTORINE ACKERMANN MY FLOWERS by PIERRE JEAN DE BERANGER THE FADELESS CANVAS by CHARLOTTE LOUISE BERTLESEN |