Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE SIGN-BOARD, by ELLA WHEELER WILCOX Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: I will paint you a sign, rumseller Last Line: So terribly, fearfully true. Alternate Author Name(s): Wilson, Robert, Mrs. Subject(s): Death; Drinks & Drinking; Dead, The; Wine | ||||||||
I WILL paint you a sign, rumseller, And hang it above your door; A truer and better signboard Than ever you had before. I will paint with the skill of a master, And many shall pause to see This wonderful piece of painting, So like the reality. I will paint yourself, rumseller, As you wait for that fair young boy, Just in the morning of manhood, A mother's pride and joy. He has no thought of stopping, But you greet him with a smile, And you seem so blithe and friendly, That he pauses to chat awhile. I will paint you again, rumseller, I will paint you as you stand, With a foaming glass of liquor Extended in your hand. He wavers, but you urge him Drink, pledge me just this one! And he takes the glass and drains it, And the hellish work is done. And next I will paint a drunkard Only a year has flown, But into that loathsome creature The fair young boy has grown. The work was sure and rapid. I will paint him as he lies In a torpid, drunken slumber, Under the wintry skies. I will paint the form of the mother As she kneels at her darling's side, Her beautiful boy that was dearer Than all the world beside. I will paint the shape of a coffin, Labelled with one word"Lost" I will paint all this, rumseller, And will paint it free of cost. The sin and the shame and the sorrow, The crime and the want and the woe That are born there in your workshop, No hand can paint, you know. But I'll paint you a sign, rumseller, And many shall pause to view This wonderful swinging signboard, So terribly, fearfully true. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A CUP OF TREMBLINGS by JOHN HOLLANDER VINTAGE ABSENCE by JOHN HOLLANDER SENT WITH A BOTTLE OF BURGUNDY FOR A BIRTHDAY by JOHN HOLLANDER TO A CIVIL SERVANT by EDMUND JOHN ARMSTRONG WINE by FRIEDRICH MARTIN VON BODENSTEDT THE GOOD FELLOW by ALEXANDER BROME |
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