Mr Nobody

Walter de la Mare 1873 (Charlton, London) – 1956 (Twickenham)



I know a funny little man,
As quiet as a mouse,
Who does the mischief that is done
In everybody’s house.
There’s no one ever sees his face,
And yet we all agree
That every plate we break was cracked
By Mr., Nobody

‘Tis he who always tears our books,
who leaves our doors ajar;
he pulls the buttons from our shirts,
and scatters pins afar,
that squeaking door will always squeak,
because of this you see:
we leave the oiling to be done
by Mr Nobody.

He puts damp wood upon the fire,
So kettles cannot boil;
His are the feet that bring in mud
And all the carpets soil.
The papers always are mislaid,
Who had them last but he?
There’s no one tosses them about
But Mr. Nobody

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 02, 2023

39 sec read
1,201

Quick analysis:

Scheme xabaxcxC xdxdxcbC xexexcxc
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 664
Words 133
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8

Walter de la Mare

Walter John de la Mare was an English poet short story writer and novelist best remembered for his works for children and The Listeners He was born in Kent and was educated at St Pauls Cathedral School His first book Songs of Childhood was published under the name Walter Ramal His 1921 novel Memoirs of a Midget won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction more…

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1 Comment
  • CDALITTLE
    Mr. Nobody was written by Elizabeth Prentice in the USA and published by 1868 in her book titled The Sayings And Doings Of Little Lou 5 years before Walter de la Mare was born.
    LikeReply 12 years ago

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"Mr Nobody" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/38290/mr-nobody>.

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