MY parents thought that I would be As great as Edison or greater: For as a boy I made balloons And wondrous kites and toys with clocks And little engines with tracks to run on And telephones of cans and thread. I played the cornet and painted pictures, Modeled in clay and took the part Of the villain in the "Octoroon." But then at twenty-one I married And had to live, and so, to live I learned the trade of making watches And kept the jewelry store on the square, Thinking, thinking, thinking, thinking, -- Not of business, but of the engine I studied the calculus to build. And all Spoon River watched and waited To see it work, but it never worked. And a few kind souls believed my genius Was somehow hampered by the store. It wasn't true. The truth was this: I didn't have the brains. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SONG OF THE WAVE by ROBERT FROST ON THE BALCONY by PAUL VERLAINE BELISARIUS by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW SWEET MEETING OF DESIRES by COVENTRY KERSEY DIGHTON PATMORE TO HIS DEAR FRIEND THOMAS RANDOLPH, ON HIS COMEDY 'THE JEALOUS LOVERS' by RICHARD BENEFIELD SONNETS FROM THE PORTUGUESE: 17 by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING |