The Way Out

Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis 1876 (Auburn) – 1938 (Melbourne)



'There must be some way out,' they say.
'There must be some way out!
We've fallen on an evil day;
That we no longer doubt.
But surely there's some magic rare
To banish this dull load of care,
And strengthen out defences.
We'll find it, yet, if we but look;
But this is sure: By hook or crook,
We won't cut down expenses!'

How like a harried housewife these
Wild politicians seem.
'Oh, George!' she cries.  'Don't scold so, please!
You must find some shrewd scheme.
There surely must be some way out.
What of those deals you talked about?
Are all your plans pretences?
I want a frock; I want a hat.
My parties?  Bridge debts?  What of that?
I can't cut down expenses!'

But George he knows, as well we know,
There is but one way out:
When incomes fall we must go slow.
Stern facts no man may flout.
And well we know, as George must know,
A pound note just so far will go.
And all men in their senses
Well realise there's but one way,
When we fall on an evil day
We've got to cut expenses.

The magic stone philosophers
Sought in the olden years,
May, by no chance, be ours, or hers,
For all our pleas and tears.
The only magic's common sense
Despite vague schemes and sly pretence,
Wrangles and differences.
When economic stress appears,
One warning echoes down the years:
'Go slow, and cut expenses!'

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:16 min read
56

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABCCADDE FGFGBBAHHE IBIBIIJAAE KLKXXAJLLE
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,268
Words 251
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 10, 10, 10, 10

Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis

Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis, better known as C. J. Dennis, was an Australian poet known for his humorous poems, especially "The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke", published in the early 20th century. Though Dennis's work is less well known today, his 1915 publication of The Sentimental Bloke sold 65,000 copies in its first year, and by 1917 he was the most prosperous poet in Australian history. Together with Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson, both of whom he had collaborated with, he is often considered among Australia's three most famous poets. While attributed to Lawson by 1911, Dennis later claimed he himself was the 'laureate of the larrikin'. When he died at the age of 61, the Prime Minister of Australia Joseph Lyons suggested he was destined to be remembered as the 'Australian Robert Burns'. more…

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