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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


A MIGHTY RUNNER by NICARCHUS

First Line: THE DAY WHEN CHARMUS RAN WITH FIVE / IN ARCADY
Last Line: HE WOULD HAVE BEEN ELEVENTH.

THE day when Charmus ran with five
In Arcady, as I'm alive,
He came in seventh.--"Five and one
Make seven, you say? It can't be done."--
Well, if you think it needs a note,
A friend in a fur overcoat
Ran with him, crying all the while,
"You'll beat 'em, Charmus, by a mile!"
And so he came in seventh.
Therefore, good Zoilus, you see
The thing is plain as plain can be;
And with four more for company,
He would have been eleventh.



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