The Discontented Manicure Scissors

Ella Wheeler Wilcox 1855 (Janesville) – 1919



Said the manicure scissors one day,
'The shears always have their own way,
And I think it absurd
That I am deterred
From entering into life's fray.

My task might be jolly for snails,
But I must confess that it fails
To give pleasure to me;
I am sick as can be
Of snipping the ends of pink nails.

I want to do work like the shears!'
So the scissors set out it appears,
And very much wroth
They tried to cut cloth,
And so split themselves open, my dears.

And the cloth, well you should have seen that;
It looked as if gnawed by a rat.
Now little folks, you
Must not think you can do
Whatever your elders are at.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

37 sec read
107

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABBA CCDDC XXEEC FFGGF
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 598
Words 125
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 5, 5, 5, 5

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Ella Wheeler Wilcox was an American author and poet. more…

All Ella Wheeler Wilcox poems | Ella Wheeler Wilcox Books

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