The Khan's Canticles 23

Robert Kirkland Kernighan 1854 (Canada) – 1926



Spring or autumn, never whine,

For your own good name.
Sometimes she '11 be cross and cold,
Never mind, she 's good as gold
Let her have her little scold

And kiss her just the same.

When there 's something wrong with baby

Kiss her ev'ry day,
'Twill help to sooth her worry, may be

Kiss her ev'ry day.
Kiss her when her soul is sad,
Kiss her when her heart is glad ;
Be your fortune good or bad,

Kiss her every day.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

26 sec read
56

Quick analysis:

Scheme x abbb a c Dc Deee d
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 422
Words 85
Stanzas 7
Stanza Lengths 1, 4, 1, 1, 2, 4, 1

Robert Kirkland Kernighan

Robert Kirkland Kernighan was a Canadian poet, journalist, and farmer. Born at Rushdale Farm, Rockton, Ontario, he apprenticed as a journalist on the Hamilton Spectator staff. In about 1876 the paper printed his first poetry. Kernighan lived in Western Canada for a while working for the Winnipeg Sun. Short thereafter returned to Hamilton to farm. He worked exclusively for many years for the Toronto Telegram writing a column titled, "The Khan's Corner." The nickname "Khan" was given to him by a young French-Canadian woman who could not pronounce his name. It was the opinion of Sir John A. Macdonald that if Canada ever went to war the soldiers would march to battle singing Kernighan's poem "The Men of the Northern Zone". In an article reviewing personalities from Hamilton history, Kernighan was praised as a "...poet and humourist with a rare gift of sympathetic portrayal of rural Canadian life." The Khan appeared in Toronto at old Albert Hall on October 20th, 1885 to a packed house. Toronto's Daily Amusement Record reported: "Albert Hall was jammed to the door, and many had to stand. This, more than anything else, is a substantial compliment to Mr. Kernighan, as the people of Toronto are not in the habit of throwing away fifty-cent pieces 'just for fun'." Kernighan's lecture was attended by notable local personalities who were described in the Amusement Record as the "Fourth Estate". The reviewer concluded: "The lecture was a masterpiece of native eloquence, humour and pathos, and the only fault found was that it was too short." more…

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