The Centenarian
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
Great Grandfather was ninety-nine
And so it was our one dread,
That though his health was superfine
He'd fail to make the hundred.
Though he was not a rolling stone
No moss he seemed to gather:
A patriarch of brawn and bone
Was Great Grandfather.
He should have been senile and frail
Instead of hale and hearty;
But no, he loved a mug of ale,
A boisterous old party.
'As frisky as a cold,' said he,
'A man's allotted span
I've lived but now I plan to be
A Centenarian.'
Then one night when I called on him
Oh what a change I saw!
His head was bowed, his eye was dim,
Down-fallen was his jaw.
Said he: 'Leave me to die, I pray;
I'm no more bloody use . . .
For in my mouth I found today--
A tooth that's loose.'
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 44 sec read
- 67 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AXAXBCBC DEDEEXEX FGFGHIHI |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 785 |
Words | 145 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8 |
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"The Centenarian" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/32515/the-centenarian>.
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