I LOVE to hear thine earnest voice, Wherever thou art hid, Thou testy little dogmatist, Thou pretty Katydid! Thou mindest me of gentlefolks, -- Old gentlefolks are they, -- Thou say'st an undisputed thing In such a solemn way. Thou art a female, Katydid! I know it by the trill That quivers through thy piercing notes, So petulant and shrill. I think there is a knot of you Beneath the hollow tree, -- A knot of spinster Katydids, -- Do Katydids drink tea? O, tell me where did Katy live, And what did Katy do? And was she very fair and young, And yet so wicked too? Did Katy love a naughty man, Or kiss more cheeks than one? I warrant Kitty did no more Than many a Kate has done. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SONNETS FROM THE PORTUGUESE: 26 by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING SPRING SONG by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR BILL AND JOE by OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES CANE: NOVEMBER COTTON FLOWER by JEAN TOOMER LINES TO BE SPOKEN BY THOMAS DENMAN.....WHEN FOUR YEARS OLD by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD STANZAS ON FINDING THE KEY OF AN OLD PIANO by E. JUSTINE BAYARD |