IF e'er my rhyming be at fault, If e'er I chance to scribble dope, If that my metre ever halt, I err in company with Pope. An that my grammar go awry, An that my English be askew, Sooth, I can prove an alibi -- The Bard of Avon did it too. If often toward the bottled grape My errant fancy fondly turns, Remember, leering jackanape, I err in company with Burns. If now and then I sigh "Mine own!" Unto another's wedded wife, Remember, I am not alone -- Hast ever read Lord Byron's Life? If frequently I fret and fume, And absolutely will not smile, I err in company with Hume, Old Socrates and T. Carlyle. If e'er I fail in etiquette, And foozle on The Proper Stuff Regarding manners, don't forget A. Tennyson's were pretty tough. Eke if I err upon the side Of talking overmuch of Me, I err, it cannot be denied, In most illustrious company. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE YANKEE'S RETURN FROM CAMP [JUNE, 1775] by EDWARD BANGS SECOND BOOK OF AIRS: SONG 3 by GAIUS VALERIUS CATULLUS UPON HIS DEPARTURE HENCE by ROBERT HERRICK CHAUCER; SONNET by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW MOUNT RAINIER by HERBERT BASHFORD THE TRIUMPHS OF THY CONQUERING POWER by WILLIAM HILEY BATHURST |