Hard Luck
Andrew Barton Paterson 1864 (Orange, New South Wales) – 1941 (Sydney, New South Wales)
I left the course, and by my side
There walked a ruined tout --
A hungry creature, evil-eyed,
Who poured this story out.
"You see," he said, "there came a swell
To Kensington today,
And, if I picked the winners well,
A crown at least he's pay.
"I picked three winners straight, I did;
I filled his purse with pelf,
And then he gave me half-a-quid
To back one for myself.
"A half-a-quid to me he cast --
I wanted it indeed;
So help me Bob, for two days past
I haven't had a feed.
"But still I thought my luck was in,
I couldn't go astray --
I put it all on Little Min,
And lost it straightaway.
"I haven't got a bite or bed,
I'm absolutely stuck;
So keep this lesson in your head:
Don't over-trust your luck!"
The folks went homeward, near and far,
The tout, oh! where is he?
Ask where the empty boilers are
Beside the Circular Quay.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 51 sec read
- 85 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABCDCD EFEF GHGH IDID JKJK LMLM |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 840 |
Words | 167 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"Hard Luck" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/2527/hard-luck>.
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