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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
TEMPER, by CLARA EXLINE BOCKOVEN
First Line: So you've a 'quick' temper, lad, you say?
Last Line: Tempered mettle holds its edge!
Subject(s): Emotions; Temperance; Prohibition
First Line: So you've a 'quick' temper, lad, you say?
Last Line: Tempered mettle holds its edge!
Subject(s): Emotions; Temperance; Prohibition
So you've a "quick" temper, lad, you say?
You don't seem to mind it, anyway,
Or you wouldn't admit it so jauntily;
But what do you mean by it now, let's see?
You lose it so easily, you say?
Well, so does that knife I whetted today.
It was cheap and its mettle is poor, that's why
I can't keep it sharp, however I try.
It's easy to nick, and softest wood
Turns its edge. The thing's no good!
If little annoyances ruffle you
And big ones rile you through and through,
If roughness turns your spirit rough,
The mettle you're made of is soft—poor stuff.
No use to dodge it or try to hedge;
Tempered mettle holds its edge!
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