If I Were King

Alan Alexander Milne 1882 – 1956



I often wish I were a King,
And then I could do anything.

If only I were King of Spain,
I'd take my hat off in the rain.

If only I were King of France,
I wouldn't brush my hair for aunts.

I think, if I were King of Greece,
I'd push things off the mantelpiece.

If I were King of Norroway,
I'd ask an elephant to stay.

If I were King of Babylon,
I'd leave my button gloves undone.

If I were King of Timbuctoo,
I'd think of lovely things to do.

If I were King of anything,
I'd tell the soldiers, "I'm the King!"

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 23, 2023

34 sec read
239

Quick analysis:

Scheme AA BB CX XC XD XX DX AA
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 501
Words 109
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2

Alan Alexander Milne

Alan Alexander Milne was an English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for various poems. Milne was a noted writer, primarily as a playwright, before the huge success of Pooh overshadowed all his previous work. more…

All Alan Alexander Milne poems | Alan Alexander Milne Books

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    "If I Were King" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 4 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/248/if-i-were-king>.

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