"I think that love's a proper noun," said Miss Amelia Gay; "And man's another, never mind what fool grammarians say. And church, and minister, and flowers, and organ, bells, and gown, And ring and service, which of these is not a proper noun? If these are not right proper nouns, won't some one tell me, pray, Just what a proper noun should be?" asked Miss Amelia Gay. "Salome's an improper noun," said Miss Matilda Prim; "And Oscar Wilde's another, -- such a shocking tale of him! And Cleopatra, Medici, and Paris -- wicked town! And Mrs. Pankhurst, -- surely she is not a proper noun! The folks that call these proper nouns have missed the paradigm. Their grammar's not my grammar," said Miss Matila Prim. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...JULY IN GEORGY by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON THE FAMILY by KATHERINE MANSFIELD SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: JAMES GARBER by EDGAR LEE MASTERS SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: PENNIWIT, THE ARTIST by EDGAR LEE MASTERS BEFORE THE FLOWERS OF FRIENDSHIP FADED FADED: 21 by GERTRUDE STEIN |