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Who Knows?

Vachel Lindsay

They say one king is mad. Perhaps. Who knows?
They say one king is doddering and grey.
They say one king is slack and sick of mind,
A puppet for hid strings that twitch and play.

Is Europe then to be their sprawling-place?
Their mad-house, till it turns the wide world's bane?
Their place of maudlin, slavering conference
Till every far-off farmstead goes insane?

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

20 sec read
403

Quick analysis:

Scheme XAXA XBXB
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 364
Words 66
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 4, 4
Full analysis for Who Knows? »

Vachel Lindsay

 · 1879 · Springfield

Nicholas Vachel Lindsay was an American poet. more…

All Vachel Lindsay poems | Vachel Lindsay Books

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    "Who Knows?" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 5 Feb. 2025. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/37445/who-knows?>.

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