The Conscientious Deacon
Vachel Lindsay 1879 (Springfield) – 1931 (Springfield)
(A song to be syncopated as you please)
Black cats, grey cats, green cats miau—
Chasing the deacon who stole the cow.
He runs and tumbles, he tumbles and runs.
He sees big white men with dogs and guns.
He falls down flat. He turns to stare—
No cats, no dogs, and no men there.
But black shadows, grey shadows, green shadows come.
The wind says, 'Miau!' and the rain says, 'Hum!'
He goes straight home. He dreams all night.
He howls. He puts his wife in a fright.
Black devils, grey devils, green devils shine—
Yes, by Sambo,
And the fire looks fine!
Cat devils, dog devils, cow devils grin—
Yes, by Sambo,
And the fire rolls in.
And so, next day, to avoid the worst—
He takes that cow
Where he found her first.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 41 sec read
- 131 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | x ab cc dd aa ee fAfgAg hbh |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 721 |
Words | 140 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 6, 3 |
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"The Conscientious Deacon" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/37350/the-conscientious-deacon>.
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