Father
Edgar Albert Guest 1881 (Birmingham) – 1959 (Detroit, Michigan)
My father knows the proper way
The nation should be run;
He tells us children every day
Just what should now be done.
He knows the way to fix the trusts,
He has a simple plan;
But if the furnace needs repairs,
We have to hire a man.
My father, in a day or two
Could land big thieves in jail;
There's nothing that he cannot do,
He knows no word like "fail."
"Our confidence" he would restore,
Of that there is no doubt;
But if there is a chair to mend,
We have to send it out.
All public questions that arise,
He settles on the spot;
He waits not till the tumult dies,
But grabs it while it's hot.
In matters of finance he can
Tell Congress what to do;
But, O, he finds it hard to meet
His bills as they fall due.
It almost makes him sick to read
The things law-makers say;
Why, father's just the man they need,
He never goes astray.
All wars he'd very quickly end,
As fast as I can write it;
But when a neighbor starts a fuss,
'Tis mother has to fight it.
In conversation father can
Do many wondrous things;
He's built upon a wiser plan
Than presidents or kings.
He knows the ins and outs of each
And every deep transaction;
We look to him for theories,
But look to ma for action.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 02, 2023
- 1:12 min read
- 164 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABXCXCDEDEXFGF HIHICDXD XAXAGJXJ CKCKXBXB |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,276 |
Words | 239 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 16, 8, 8, 8 |
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"Father" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/8395/father>.
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