Analysis of Some Little Bug

Roy Atwell 1878 (John Leroy Atwell Syracuse, New York) – 1962 (New York City, New York)



In these days of indigestion
It is oftentimes a question
As to what to eat and what to leave alone;
For each microbe and bacillus
Has a different way to kill us,
And in time they always claim us for their own.
There are germs of every kind
In any food that you can find
In the market or upon the bill of fare.
Drinking water's just as risky
As the so-called deadly whiskey,
And it's often a mistake to breathe the air.

Some little bug is going to find you some day,
Some little bug will creep behind you some day,
Then he'll send for his bug friends
And all your earthly trouble ends;
Some little bug is going to find you some day.

The inviting green cucumber
Gets most everybody's number,
While the green corn has a system of its own;
Though a radish seems nutritious
Its behaviour is quite vicious,
And a doctor will be coming to your home.
Eating lobster cooked or plain
Is only flirting with ptomaine,
While an oyster sometimes has a lot to say,
But the clams we cat in chowder
Make the angels chant the louder,
For they know that we'll be with them right away.

Take a slice of nice fried onion
And you're fit for Dr. Munyon,
Apple dumplings kill you quicker than a train.
Chew a cheesy midnight "rabbit"
And a grave you'll soon inhabit
Ah, to eat at all is such a foolish game.
Eating huckleberry pie
Is a pleasing way to die,
While sauerkraut brings on softening of the brain.
When you eat banana fritters
Every undertaker titters,
And the casket makers nearly go insane.

Some little bug is going to find you some day,
Some little bug will creep behind you some day,
With a nervous little quiver
He'll give cirrhosis of the liver;
Some little bug is going to find you some day.

When cold storage vaults I visit
I can only say what is it
Makes poor mortals fill their systems with such stuff?
Now, for breakfast, prunes are dandy
If a stomach pump is handy
And your doctor can be found quite soon enough.
Eat a plate of fine pigs' knuckles
And the headstone cutter chuckles,
While the grave digger makes a note upon his cuff.
Eat that lovely red bologna
And you'll wear a wooden kimona,
As your relatives start scrappin 'bout your stuff.

Some little bug is going to find you some day,
Some little bug will creep behind you some day,
Eating juicy sliced pineapple
Makes the sexton dust the chapel;
Some little bug is going to find you some day.

All those crazy foods they mix
Will float us 'cross the River Styx,
Or they'll start us climbing up the milky way.
And the meals we eat in courses
Mean a hearse and two black horses
So before a meal some people always pray.
Luscious grapes breed 'pendicitis,
And the juice leads to gastritis,
So there's only death to greet us either way;
And fried liver's nice, but, mind you,
Friends will soon ride slow behind you
And the papers then will have nice things to say.

Some little bug is going to find you some day,
Some little bug will creep behind you some day
Eat some sauce, they call it chili,
On your breast they'll place a lily;
Some little bug is going to find you some day.


Scheme aabccbddeffe GGhhG iibccxjjgiig aajkkxlljccj GGiiG kxmffmnnmfam GGooG ppgqqgccgrrg GGffG
Poetic Form Etheree  (23%)
Metre 0111010 1110010 11111011101 1110010 101001111 0011111111 11111001 01011111 00101010111 10101110 10111010 01100011101 110111011111 11011101111 1111111 01110101 110111011111 00101100 1110010 10111010111 10101010 111110 00101110111 1010111 11010110 11100110111 10111010 10101010 11111111101 10111110 0111110 10101110101 1010110 00111010 11111110101 101001 1010111 11011100101 1110101 1001001 00101010101 110111011111 11011101111 10101010 110101010 110111011111 11101110 11101111 11101110111 11101110 10101110 01101111101 10111110 0011010 101101010111 11101010 0110101 1110011111 110111011111 11011101111 1010110 10101010 110111011111 1110111 11110101 11111010101 00111010 10101110 1010111011 10111 00111010 11101111101 0111111 11111011 00101111111 110111011111 11011101111 11111110 11111010 110111011111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 2,974
Words 579
Sentences 21
Stanzas 9
Stanza Lengths 12, 5, 12, 12, 5, 12, 5, 12, 5
Lines Amount 80
Letters per line (avg) 30
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 265
Words per stanza (avg) 63
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Submitted on August 03, 2020

Modified on April 28, 2023

2:57 min read
280

Roy Atwell

John Leroy "Roy" Atwell was an American actor, comedian and composer, known for playing characters that mis-deliver their lines or stammer. more…

All Roy Atwell poems | Roy Atwell Books

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    A figure of speech that compares two unlike things using "like" or "as" is called a _______.
    A simile
    B hyperbole
    C metaphor
    D personification