Griffy the Cooper

Edgar Lee Masters 1868 (Garnett) – 1950 (Elkins Park)



The cooper should know about tubs.
But I learned about life as well,
And you who loiter around these graves
Think you know life.
You think your eye sweeps about a wide horizon, perhaps,
In truth you are only looking around the interior of your tub.
You cannot lift yourself to its rim
And see the outer world of things,
And at the same time see yourself.
You are submerged in the tub of yourself
Taboos and rules and appearances,
Are the staves of your tub.
Break them and dispel the witchcraft
Of thinking your tub is life!
And that you know life!

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

31 sec read
109

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDEFGHIIJFKDD
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 560
Words 106
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 15

Edgar Lee Masters

Edgar Lee Masters was an American poet, biographer, and dramatist. more…

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