Quantum Sufficit

Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis 1876 (Auburn) – 1938 (Melbourne)



'I only said this German plan
Had points,' remarked the small, meek man.
'I merely said an extra wife
Might add variety to life.
Strange how a woman will resent
A hypothetic argument.
I didn't mean my reference
As personal, in any sense,
But she - aw, why talk, anyhow?
 Look at me now!

'This eye.  These bumps, here, on my head.
This battered face.  I only said
The Germans seemed to be a race
Who had sane views of woman's place.
Who knew her value.  As I spoke
I smiled, to show it was a joke,
A merry quip.  Have they no sense
Of humor?  Are they all as dense
As she?  Will none of them allow -
Look at me now!

'I only said that in the end
This German movement might extend
To other lands.  I mean to say,
I never meant it in the way
She took the words.  It isn't fair!
Jam on my clothes!  Egg in my hair!
(Who'd think that she could aim so straight?)
Those Teuton fools are tempting fate
To dream of more than one strong frau.
Look at me now!

'At breakfast time it all began,
Like that,' explained the small, meek man.
'Look at me now!  These Nazis might
Perceive a portent in my plight -
My humor scorned; egg in my hair -
If they could see her standing there,
A vengeful fury, angry-eyed,
Ere they would wish her multiplied
They'd think again, however tough.
One is enough.'

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:17 min read
132

Quick analysis:

Scheme aabbxxxcdD eeffggccdD hhiijjkkdD aalljjmmnn
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,250
Words 256
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 10, 10, 10, 10

Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis

Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis, better known as C. J. Dennis, was an Australian poet known for his humorous poems, especially "The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke", published in the early 20th century. Though Dennis's work is less well known today, his 1915 publication of The Sentimental Bloke sold 65,000 copies in its first year, and by 1917 he was the most prosperous poet in Australian history. Together with Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson, both of whom he had collaborated with, he is often considered among Australia's three most famous poets. While attributed to Lawson by 1911, Dennis later claimed he himself was the 'laureate of the larrikin'. When he died at the age of 61, the Prime Minister of Australia Joseph Lyons suggested he was destined to be remembered as the 'Australian Robert Burns'. more…

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