The Logical Vegetarian

Gilbert Keith Chesterton 1874 (Kensington, London) – 1936 (Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire)



"Why shouldn't I have a purely vegetarian drink? Why shouldn't I take vegetables in their highest form, so to speak? The modest vegetarians ought to stick to wine or beer, plain vegetable drinks, instead of filling their goblets with the blood of bulls and elephants, as all conventional meat-eaters do, I suppose"--Dalroy.

   You will find me drinking rum,
   Like a sailor in a slum,
You will find me drinking beer like a Bavarian
   You will find me drinking gin
   In the lowest kind of inn
Because I am a rigid Vegetarian.

   So I cleared the inn of wine,
   And I tried to climb the sign,
And I tried to hail the constable as "Marion."
   But he said I couldn't speak,
   And he bowled me to the Beak
Because I was a Happy Vegetarian.

   Oh, I know a Doctor Gluck,
   And his nose it had a hook,
And his attitudes were anything but Aryan;
   So I gave him all the pork
   That I had, upon a fork
Because I am myself a Vegetarian.

   I am silent in the Club,
   I am silent in the pub.,
I am silent on a bally peak in Darien;
   For I stuff away for life
   Shoving peas in with a knife,
Because I am a rigid Vegetarian.

   No more the milk of cows
   Shall pollute my private house
Than the milk of the wild mares of the Barbarian
   I will stick to port and sherry,
   For they are so very, very,
So very, very, very, Vegetarian.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 30, 2023

1:16 min read
99

Quick analysis:

Scheme a bbcddC eecffc xxcggc hhciiC xxcaac
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 1,315
Words 253
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 1, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6

Gilbert Keith Chesterton

Gilbert Keith Chesterton was an influential English writer of the early 20th century His diverse output included journalism philosophy poetry biography Christian apologetics fantasy and detective fiction Gilbert Keith Chesterton KC*SG was an English writer, philosopher, lay theologian, and literary and art critic. He has been referred to as the "prince of paradox". Time magazine observed of his writing style: "Whenever possible Chesterton made his points with popular sayings, proverbs, allegories—first carefully turning them inside out." more…

All Gilbert Keith Chesterton poems | Gilbert Keith Chesterton Books

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