"I think that love's a proper noun," said Miss Amelia Gay; "And man's another, never mind what fool grammarians say. And church, and minister, and flowers, and organ, bells, and gown, And ring and service, which of these is not a proper noun? If these are not right proper nouns, won't some one tell me, pray, Just what a proper noun should be?" asked Miss Amelia Gay. "Salome's an improper noun," said Miss Matilda Prim; "And Oscar Wilde's another, -- such a shocking tale of him! And Cleopatra, Medici, and Paris -- wicked town! And Mrs. Pankhurst, -- surely she is not a proper noun! The folks that call these proper nouns have missed the paradigm. Their grammar's not my grammar," said Miss Matila Prim. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...LINES WRITTEN TO HIS WIFE [WHILE ON A VISIT TO UPPER INDIA] by REGINALD HEBER HUNTING HORNS by GUILLAUME APOLLINAIRE SALOME by GUILLAUME APOLLINAIRE MY FORE-ELDERS by WILLIAM BARNES ENGLISH ENCOURAGEMENT OF ART (FIRST READING) by WILLIAM BLAKE |