The Pessimist
Benjamin Franklin King 1857 (St. Joseph, Michigan) – 1894 (Bowling Green, Kentucky)
1 Nothing to do but work,
2 Nothing to eat but food,
3 Nothing to wear but clothes
4 To keep one from going nude.
5 Nothing to breathe but air
6 Quick as a flash 't is gone;
7 Nowhere to fall but off,
8 Nowhere to stand but on.
9 Nothing to comb but hair,
10 Nowhere to sleep but in bed,
11 Nothing to weep but tears,
12 Nothing to bury but dead.
13 Nothing to sing but songs,
14 Ah, well, alas! alack!
15 Nowhere to go but out,
16 Nowhere to come but back.
17 Nothing to see but sights,
18 Nothing to quench but thirst,
19 Nothing to have but what we've got;
20 Thus thro' life we are cursed.
21 Nothing to strike but a gait;
22 Everything moves that goes.
23 Nothing at all but common sense
24 Can ever withstand these woes.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 29, 2023
- 46 sec read
- 132 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABXB CXXX CDXD XAXX XEXE XFXF |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 825 |
Words | 153 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"The Pessimist" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/4249/the-pessimist>.
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