IV I KNEW a black beetle, who lived down a drain, And friendly he was though his manners were plain; When I took a bath he would come up the pipe, And together we'd wash and together we'd wipe. Though mother would sometimes protest with a sneer That my choice of a tub-mate was wanton and queer, A nicer companion I never have seen: He bathed every night, so he must have been clean. Whenever he heard the tap splash in the tub He'd dash up the drain-pipe and wait for a scrub, And often, so fond of ablution was he, I'd find him there floating and waiting for me. But nurse has done something that seems a great shame: She saw him there, waiting, prepared for a game: She turned on the hot and she scalded him sore And he'll never come bathing with me any more. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...IMITATION OF POPE: A COMPLIMENT TO THE LADIES by WILLIAM BLAKE FAREWELL TO LOVE by JOHN DONNE JOHN BROWN'S BODY by CHARLES SPRAGUE HALL THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW TWO AT A FIRESIDE by EDWIN MARKHAM THE SHADOW DANCE by LOUISE CHANDLER MOULTON THE SEA by BRYAN WALLER PROCTER |