Vignettes



“AND Smith has made money?'
'O, no; that's a myth:
Smith never made money
But money made Smith!'

_______________

A sculptor is Deming—a great man, too;
But the chisel of fancy the hand outstrips;
While he talks of the wonder he's going to do
All the work of his fingers leaks out at his lips!

______________

'A scholar, sir! To Brown six tongues are known!'
(The Blockhead! never spoke one thought his own!)

_______________

Johnson jingled his silver—though he never had much to purloin;
But Jackson jingled his intellect—O, give us Johnson's coin!

______________

At school a blockhead—sullen, wordless, dull;
His size well known to even his smallest mate;
Grown up, men say: ' How silent! He is full
Of will and wisdom! ' Truly mud is great!

An honest man! Jones never broke the law.
The wretch behind the bars he scorned with pride.
But these same bars on every side he saw:
Jones lived in prison—on the other side.

_______________

A hideous fungus in the wine-vault grows,
Liver-like, loathsome, shaking on its stalk:
Above the wine-vault, too (to him who knows),
The cursed mushroom lives and walks and talks.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

58 sec read
28

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CDCD EE FF XGXG HIHI JXJX
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,115
Words 197
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 2, 2, 4, 4, 4

John Boyle O'Reilly

 · 1844 · Dowth

John Boyle O'Reilly was an Irish-born poet, journalist and fiction writer. more…

All John Boyle O'Reilly poems | John Boyle O'Reilly Books

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    "Vignettes" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Dec. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/22103/vignettes>.

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