Hear the fluter with his flute, Silver flute! Oh, what a world of wailing is awakened by its toot! How it demi-semi quavers On the maddened air of night! And defieth all endeavors To escape the sound or sight Of the flute, flute, flute, With its tootle, tootle, toot; With reiterated tooteling of exasperating toots, The long protracted tootelings of agonizing toots Of the flute, flute, flute, flute, Flute, flute, flute, And the wheezings and the spittings of its toots. Should he get that other flute, Golden flute, Oh, what a deeper anguish will his presence institoot! How his eyes to heaven he'll raise, As he plays, All the days! How he'll stop us on our ways With its praise! And the people --oh, the people, That don't live up in the steeple, But inhabit Christian parlors Where he visiteth and plays, Where he plays, plays, plays, In the cruellest of ways, And thinks we ought to listen, And expects us to be mute, Who would rather have the earache Than the music of his flute, Of his flute, flute, flute, And the tootings of his toot, Of the toots wherewith he tooteleth its agonizing toot, Of the flute, flewt, fluit, floot, Phlute, phlewt, phlewght, And the tootle, tootle, tooting of its toot. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SONG OF SHERWOOD by ALFRED NOYES THE WORLD by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI THE VOYAGE OF MAELDUNE by ALFRED TENNYSON THE ROVER O' LOCHRYAN by HEW AINSLIE ODES: BOOK 1: ODE 12. TO SIR FRANCIS HENRY DRAKE, BARONET by MARK AKENSIDE TO THE KING OF THULE by HENRI ALLORGE RACHEL by WILLIAM H. ARMSTRONG III EPITAPH ON TWO YOUNG MEN NAMED LEITCH IN CROSSING THE RIVER SOUTHESK by JAMES BEATTIE |