Pittypat and Tippytoe

Eugene Field 1850 (St. Louis) – 1895 (Chicago)



All day long they come and go--
  Pittypat and Tippytoe;
    Footprints up and down the hall,
      Playthings scattered on the floor,
    Finger-marks along the wall,
      Tell-tale smudges on the door--
  By these presents you shall know
  Pittypat and Tippytoe.
  How they riot at their play!
 And a dozen times a day
   In they troop, demanding bread--
     Only buttered bread will do,
   And the butter must be spread
     Inches thick with sugar too!
 And I never can say "No,
 Pittypat and Tippytoe!"
 Sometimes there are griefs to soothe,
 Sometimes ruffled brows to smooth;
   For (I much regret to say)
     Tippytoe and Pittypat
   Sometimes interrupt their play
     With an internecine spat;
 Fie, for shame! to quarrel so--
 Pittypat and Tippytoe!
 Oh the thousand worrying things
 Every day recurrent brings!
   Hands to scrub and hair to brush,
     Search for playthings gone amiss,
   Many a wee complaint to hush,
     Many a little bump to kiss;
 Life seems one vain, fleeting show
 To Pittypat and Tippytoe!
 And when day is at an end,
 There are little duds to mend;
   Little frocks are strangely torn,
     Little shows great holes reveal,
   Little hose, but one day worn,
     Rudely yawn at toe and heel!
 Who but you could work such woe,
 Pittypat and Tippytoe!
 On the floor and down the hall,
 Rudely smutched upon the wall,
   There are proofs in every kind
     Of the havoc they have wrought,
   And upon my heart you'd find
     Just such trade-marks, if you sought;
 Oh, how glad I am 'tis so,
 Pittypat and Tippytoe!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 14, 2023

1:16 min read
138

Quick analysis:

Scheme aBcdcdaBebbbbbaBffebebaBgghihiabbbjkjkaBccbbbbaB
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,515
Words 255
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 48

Eugene Field

Eugene Field, Sr. was an American writer, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays. more…

All Eugene Field poems | Eugene Field Books

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