Because the little gentleman made nautical instruments And lived in a street which ran down to the sea, The neighbors called him "Salt Charlie." I wonder what they would have said if they had known That he stole out every evening to a sweet-shop And bought sticks of red-and-white sugar candy. It was a pleasant thing to see him, Standing meekly before the custom-house, Sucking a sugar-stick, And gazing at the dead funnels of anchored steamers Against a star-sprung sky. I thought of him in an oval gilt frame Against sprigged wall-paper, Done in Fra Angelico pinks and blues Of a clear and sprightly elegance. Wherefore, being convinced of his value as ornament, I have set him on paper for the delectation Of sundry scattered persons Who consider such things important. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A WOMAN'S QUESTION by ADELAIDE ANNE PROCTER GIRL TO SOLDIER ON LEAVE by ISAAC ROSENBERG TO THE MOCKINGBIRD by RICHARD HENRY WILDE MADISON CAWEIN by MARGARET STEELE ANDERSON THE KNIGHTS: DEMOS REJUVENATED by ARISTOPHANES |