A Sense of Humor

Vachel Lindsay 1879 (Springfield) – 1931 (Springfield)



No man should stand before the moon
To make sweet song thereon,
With dandified importance,
His sense of humor gone.

Nay, let us don the motley cap,
The jester's chastened mien,
If we would woo that looking-glass
And see what should be seen.

O mirror on fair Heaven's wall,
We find there what we bring.
So, let us smile in honest part
And deck our souls and sing.

Yea, by the chastened jest alone
Will ghosts and terrors pass,
And fays, or suchlike friendly things,
Throw kisses through the glass.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 29, 2023

28 sec read
113

Quick analysis:

Scheme XAXA XBCB XDXD XCXC
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 501
Words 92
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4

Vachel Lindsay

Nicholas Vachel Lindsay was an American poet. more…

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