The Kindly Copper
Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis 1876 (Auburn) – 1938 (Melbourne)
Oh, for that kindly copper
I knew long years ago,
A stalwart man and proper,
Crime's unrelenting foe.
He was for me a shield, a friend
Who sole concern was to defend
Such just rights as I know.
My bedtime thoughts went with him
What time his forthright feet,
In slow and measured rhythm,
Patrolled his midnight beat;
And, knowing he was on my side,
I blessed him, snugly satisfied,
Our concord was complete.
And now, tho' we've neglected
No duty, sought no change,
This friend I once respected
Half hostile grows, and strange.
They've made of him a hybrid thing:
And jobs we both dislike now bring
Him well within my range.
His stern eye holds suspicions
I feel I don't deserve
Re rules and requisitions
That fairly get my nerve.
And, when I motor thro' the land,
His great, prohibitive, red hand
Restrains my merry verve.
They give him duties menial
Jobs that no proud cop asks;
So that he, once so genial,
No more in favor basks.
And I am quite convinced the pop
ularity of any cop
Must suffer thro' these tasks.
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 57 sec read
- 69 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABCCB XDXDEED XFXFGGF HIHIJJI KLKLMML |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 992 |
Words | 188 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 7, 7, 7, 7, 7 |
Translation
Find a translation for this poem in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Kindly Copper" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/6693/the-kindly-copper>.
Discuss the poem The Kindly Copper with the community...
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In