If the Advertising Man Had Been Praed, or Locker

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



"C'est distingue," says Madame La Mode,
'Tis a fabric of subtle distinction.
For street wear it is superb.
The chic of the Rue de la Paix--
The style of Fifth Avenue--
The character of Regent Street--
All are expressed in this new fabric creation.
Leather-like, but feather-light--
It drapes and folds and distends to perfection.
And it may be had in dull or glazed,
Plain or grained, basket weave or moiréd surfaces!

--Advertisement of Pontine, in Vanity Fair.

"C'est distingue," says Madame La Mode.
Subtly distinctive as a fabric fair;
Nor Keats nor Shelley in his loftiest ode
Could thrum the line to tell how it will wear.

The flair, the chic, that is Rue de la Paix,
The style that is Fifth Avenue, New York.
The character of Regent Street in May--
As leather strong, yet light as any cork.
All these for her in this fair fabric clad.
(Light of my life, O thou my Genevieve!)
In surface dull or glazed it may be had--
In plain or grained, moiréd or basket weave.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

54 sec read
106

Quick analysis:

Scheme Abxcxxbxbxc d Adad cexefgfg
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 976
Words 180
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 11, 1, 4, 8

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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