A Poor Excuse, but our own

Franklin P. Adams 1881 (Chicago, Illinois) – 1960 (New York City, New York)



(Why don't you ever write any child poetry?
  -A MOTHER.)

My right-hand neighbour hath a child,
  A pretty child of five or six,
Not more than other children wild,
  Nor fuller than the rest of tricks-
At five he rises, shine or rain,
And noisily plays 'fire' or 'train.'

Likewise a girl, _aetatis_ eight,
  He hath. Each morning, as a rule,
Proudly my neighbour will relate
  How bright Mathilda is at school.
My ardour, less than half of mild,
Bids me to comment, 'Wondrous child!'

All through the vernal afternoon
  My other neighbour's children skate
A wild Bacchantic rigadoon
  On rollers; nor does it abate
Till dark; and then his babies cry
What time I fain would versify.

Did I but set myself to sing
  A children's song, I'd stand revealed
A bard that did the infant thing
  As well as Riley or 'Gene Field.
I could write famous Children Stuff,
If they'd keep quiet long enough.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

49 sec read
93

Quick analysis:

Scheme XX ABABCC DEDEAA XDCDXF GHGHFF
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 871
Words 162
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 2, 6, 6, 6, 6

Franklin P. Adams

Franklin Pierce Adams was an American columnist known as Franklin P. Adams and by his initials F. P. A.. Famed for his wit, he is best known for his newspaper column, "The Conning Tower", and his appearances as a regular panelist on radio's Information Please. A prolific writer of light verse, he was a member of the Algonquin Round Table of the 1920s and 1930s. more…

All Franklin P. Adams poems | Franklin P. Adams Books

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