My Brothers
Robert William Service 1874 – 1958
While I make rhymes my brother John
Makes shiny shoes which dames try on,
And finding to their fit and stance
They buy and wear with elegance;
But mine is quite another tale,--
For song there is no sale.
My brother Tom a tailor shop
Is owner of, and ladies stop
To try the models he has planned,
And richly pay, I understand:
Yet not even a dingy dime
Can I make with my rhyme.
My brother Jim sells stuff to eat
Like trotters, tripe and sausage meat.
I dare not by his window stop,
Lest he should offer me a chop;
For though a starving bard I be,
To hell, say I, with charity!
My brothers all are proud of purse,
But though my poverty I curse,
I would not for a diadem
Exchange my lowly lot with them:
A garret and a crust for me,
And reams and dreams of Poetry.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 46 sec read
- 133 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AAXXBB CCDDEE FFCCGG HHIIGG |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 759 |
Words | 156 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6 |
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"My Brothers" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/32265/my-brothers>.
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