Mutatis Mutandis Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: A BCBBDEEDFGDFGD H I JKKJLCCLCMNBON H F JDDJDAADPAQNAN R L JJJJJMMJJMNJMN R N JAAJNJJNRJJ JJ R N JMMJNRRNDAMDAM R M ARRADMMDNDSNDS R D JNNJJMMJDDDDD J J JTTJADDARNDRND J U JJJJR N MRDMRD R R MDDMJDDJDNDDND J R MRRMMDDMDDRDDR J L JNNJEEEEMMNMMN R J NMMNNMMNDMED E R J ENNENMMNRNERNE R N RNNRNNNNDJNDJN R R JMMJNNNNMTUMTS R N JDDJMDDMEDJEDJ J N MRRME ENMJNMJ J N JMMJDJJDNDJNDJ

The FoolA
-
Here is a tale for children and their granniesB
There was a fool a man who'd had his chancesC
But missed them somehow lost them just for fanciesB
Tag ends of things with which he'd crammed cranniesB
Of his cracked head as panes are crammed with paperD
Fragments of song and bits of worthless writingE
Which he was never weary of recitingE
Fluttered his mind as night a windy taperD
A witless fool who lived in some fair VeniceF
Of his own building where he dreamed of BeautyG
Who swore each weed a flower the sorry pauperD
This would not do Men said he was a menaceF
To all mankind and as it was their dutyG
Clapped him in prison where he died as properD
-
IIH
-
The ScarecrowI
-
Here is a tale for prelates and for parsonsJ
There was a scarecrow once a thing of tattersK
And sticks and straw to whom men trusted mattersK
Of weighty moment murders thefts and arsonsJ
None saw he was a scarecrow Every worshipL
And honour his Men set him in high placesC
And ladies primped their bodies tinged their facesC
And kneeled to him as slaves to some great SirshipL
One night a storm none knew it blew to piecesC
Our jackstraw friend and the sweet air of heavenM
Knew him no more and was no longer taintedN
Then learned doctors put him in their thesesB
The State set up his statue and thought evenO
As thought the Church perhaps he should be saintedN
-
IIIH
-
ServiceF
-
Here is a tale for proper men and virginsJ
There was a woman once who had a daughterD
A fair faced wench as stable as is waterD
And frailer than the first spring flower that burgeonsJ
She did not need to work but then her motherD
Thought it more suitable and circumspectlyA
Put her with gentlefolks where indirectlyA
She rose in service as has many anotherD
The house she served in soon became dividedP
The wife and husband parted with some scandalA
But she remained and in the end was marriedQ
What happened then You'll say 'The girl decidedN
She loved another 'Nay not so The vandalA
Wrecked no more homes but lived a life unvariedN
-
IVR
-
The ApeL
-
Here is a tale for maidens and for mothersJ
There was an ape a very prince of monkeysJ
Who capered in the world of fools and flunkiesJ
The envy of his set and of all othersJ
He was the handbook of all social mannersJ
The beau of beaux and simian glass of fashionM
To whom all folly functioned played at passionM
And matrimony waved beleaguering bannersJ
A girl of girls one God had given gracesJ
And beauty more than oft He grants to humanM
Captured the creature and they were unitedN
And strange to say she loved him Saw no tracesJ
Of ape in him And like a very womanM
Reformed her countenance and was delightedN
-
VR
-
The PessimistN
-
Here is a tale for uncles and old auntiesJ
There was a man once who denied the DevilA
Yet in the world saw nothing else but evilA
A pessimist with face as sour as Dante'sJ
Still people praised him men he loathed and hatedN
And cursed beneath his breath for wretched sinnersJ
While still he drank with them and ate their dinnersJ
And listened to their talk and toleratedN
At last he wrote a book full of invectiveR
And vile abuse of earth and all its nationsJ
Denying God and Devil Heaven and HadesJ
Fame followed this 'His was the right perspective '-
'A great philosopher ' He lost all patienceJ
But still went out to dine with Lords and LadiesJ
-
VIR
-
An IncidentN
-
Here is a tale for men and women teachersJ
There was a girl who'd ceased to be a maidenM
Who walked by night with heart like Lilith's ladenM
A child of sin anathemaed of preachersJ
She had been lovely once but dye and scarletN
On hair and face had ravaged all her beautyR
Only her eyes still did her girl soul dutyR
Showing the hell that hounded her poor harlotN
One day a fisherman from out the riverD
Fished her pale body like a branch of willlowA
Or golden weed self murdered drowned and brokenM
The sight of it had made a strong man shiverD
And on her poor breast as upon a pillowA
A picture smiled a baby's like some tokenM
-
VIIR
-
VindicationM
-
Here is a tale for gossips and chaste peopleA
There lived a woman once a straight laced ladyR
Whose only love was slander Nothing shadyR
Escaped her vulture eye Like some prim steepleA
Her course of life pointed to Heaven everD
And woe unto the sinner girl or womanM
Whom love undid She was their fiercest foemanM
No circumstance excused Misfortune neverD
As she had lived she died The mourners gatheredN
Parson and preacher this one and anotherD
And many gossips of most proper carriageS
Her will was read And then a child was fatheredN
Fat Lechery had his day She'd been a motherD
A man was heir There'd never been a marriageS
-
VIIIR
-
TreasureD
-
Here is a tale for infants and old nursesJ
There was a man who gathered rags and peddledN
Who lived alone with no one ever meddledN
And this old man was very fond of versesJ
His house a ruin so the tale rehearsesJ
A hovel over run of rats and verminM
Not fit for beast to live in Like a sermonM
Embodying misery and hell and cursesJ
There one grey dawn of rain and windy weatherD
They found him dead starved o'er a written paperD
Beside a dim and half expiring taperD
It was a play the poor fool'd put togetherD
Of gnomes and fairies for his own sad pleasureD
And folks destroyed it saying 'We seek for treasure '-
-
IXJ
-
The AssJ
-
Here is a tale for artists and for writersJ
There was an ass in other words a criticT
Who brayed and balked and kicked most analyticT
And waved long ears above his brother smitersJ
He could not tell a rose tree from a thistleA
But oft mistook the one thing for the otherD
Then wagged his ears most wisely at some brotherD
Sent him his he haw for the Penny WhistleA
A poet sent his volume to him' kindlyR
Asking for criticism You might know itN
He made one mouthful of it weed and flowerD
There rose a cry that he had done it blindlyR
'Twas poetry What would he kill a poetN
Not he The ass had brayed him into powerD
-
XJ
-
The CabbageU
-
Here is a tale for any one who wishesJ
There grew a cabbage once among the flowersJ
A plain broad cabbage a good wench whose hoursJ
Were kitchen busy with plebeian dishesJ
The rose and lily toilless without mottleR
Patricians born despised her 'How unpleasant '-
They cried 'What odour Worse than any peasantN
Who soils God's air Give us our smelling bottle '-
There came a gentleman who owned the gardenM
Looking about him at both flower and edibleR
Admiring here and there a simple sinnerD
Who sought some bud to be his heart's sweet wardenM
But passed the flowers and took it seems incredibleR
That cabbage But a man must have his dinnerD
-
XIR
-
The CriminalR
-
Here is a tale for all who wish to listenM
There was a thief who in his cut throat quarterD
Was hailed as chief he had a way of barterD
Persuasion masked behind a weapon's glistenM
That made it cockrow with each good man's richesJ
At last he joined the Brotherhood of MurderD
And rose in his profession lived a herderD
Of crime in some dark tavern of the ditchesJ
There was a war He went Became a gunnerD
And slew as soldiers should his many a hundredN
In authorized and most professional mannerD
Here he advanced again Was starred a onerD
Was captained pensioned and nobody wonderedN
And lived and died respectable as a tannerD
-
XIIJ
-
Death And The FoolR
-
Here is a tale for any man or womanM
A fool sought Death and braved him with his baubleR
Among the graves At last he heard a hobbleR
And something passed him monstrous super humanM
And by a tomb that reared a broken columnM
He heard it stop And then Gargantuan laughterD
Shattered the hush Deep silence followed afterD
Filled with the stir of bones cadaverous solemnM
Then said the fool 'Come show thyself old prancerD
I'll have a bout with thee I too can clatterD
My wand and motley Come now Death and FollyR
See who's the better man ' There was no answerD
Only his bauble broke a serious matterD
To the poor fool who died of melancholyR
-
XIIIJ
-
The BagpipeL
-
Here is a tale for poets and for playersJ
There was a bagpipe once that wheezed and whistledN
And droned vile discords notes that fairly bristledN
Nasal and harsh outbraying all the brayersJ
And then the thing assumed another bearingE
Boasted itself an organ of God's makingE
A world enduring instrument Earth shakingE
Greater than any organ more sky daringE
To prove which lo upon an elevationM
It pranced and blew to its own satisfactionM
Until 'twas heard from Key West far as FundyN
But while it piped some schoolboy took occasionM
There was a blow a sudden sharp impactionM
The wind bag burst Sic transit gloria mundiN
-
XIVR
-
The OxJ
-
Here is a tale for farmer and for peasantN
There was an ox who might have ploughed for JasonM
So strong was he his huge head like a basonM
A Gothic helmet with enormous crescentN
Stolid of look and slow of hoof and steadyN
Meek was the beast and born but to be drivenM
Unmindful of the yoke which toil had givenM
Toil with his goad and lash for ever readyN
One day a bull who was the bullock's neighborD
Proud as a sultan haremed with his womenM
Lowed to the ox who had received a beatingE
'You are a fool What have you for your labourD
Blows and bad food Go to Why don't you show men '-
The ox was but an ox and went on eatingE
-
XVR
-
The GooseJ
-
Here is a tale for spinsters at their sewingE
There was a goose a little gosling surelyN
Who went her goose girl way and looked demurelyN
As every goose should when 'tis wise and knowingE
Proper was she as every gosling should beN
And innocent as Margarete or GretchenM
And did her duty in the house and kitchenM
And like a goose was happy as she could beN
Smug was she with a sleek and dove like dimpleR
Great gooseberry eyes and cheeks out of the dairyN
A goose aye just a goose a little dumb thingE
One day the goose was gone The tale is simpleR
She had eloped 'Twas nothing ordinaryN
A married man with children That was somethingE
-
XVIR
-
The BeastN
-
Here is a tale for sportsmen when at tableR
There was a boar like that Atalanta huntedN
Who gorged and snored and unmolested gruntedN
His fat way through the world as such ableR
Huge jowled and paunched and porcine limbed and marrowedN
King of his kind deep in his lair he squattedN
And round him fames of many maidens rottedN
Where Licence whelped and Lust her monsters farrowedN
There came a damsel like the one in SpenserD
A Britomart as sorcerous as CirceJ
Who pierced him with a tract her spear and endedN
The beast's career Made him a man a censorD
Of public morals arbiter of mercyJ
And led him by the nose and called him splendidN
-
XVIIR
-
The OwlR
-
Here is a tale for ladies with romancesJ
There was an owl composer and musicianM
Who looked as wise as if he had a missionM
And at all art cast supercilious glancesJ
People proclaimed him great because he said itN
And like the great he never played nor printedN
His compositions 'though 'twas whispered hintedN
He'd written something but no one had read itN
Owl eyed he posed at functions of positionM
Hirsute and eye glassed looking analyticT
Opening his mouth to worshipping female knowledgeU
And then he married A woman of ambitionM
A singer teacher and a musical criticT
Just what he wanted He became a collegeS
-
XVIIIR
-
The ToadN
-
Here is a tale to tell to rich relationsJ
There was a toad a Calibanic monsterD
In whose squat head ambition had ensconced herD
Most bloated jewel dear to highest stationsJ
He was received though mottled as a lichenM
In coat and character because the creatureD
Croaked as the devil prompted him or natureD
And said the right thing both in hall and kitchenM
To each he sang according to their likingE
And purred his flattery in the ear of LeisureD
Cringing attendance on the proud and wealthyJ
One day a crane with features of a VikingE
Swallowed him whole and did it with great pleasureD
His system needed such toads kept him healthyJ
-
XIXJ
-
The CricketN
-
Here is a tale for those who sing with reasonM
There was a cricket troubadouring fellowR
Who chirped his lay or zoomed it like a 'celloR
Day in day out no matter what the seasonM
Great was his love for his own violiningE
He never wearied saying 'What performing '-
And oft when through would ask 'Was not that charming '-
Then play it over right from the beginningE
A talent such as his should be rewardedN
So thought he all unconscious of intentionM
Of any one among the violin sectsJ
Until by some one lo he was regardedN
Lifted examined given special mentionM
And placed within a case with other insectsJ
-
XXJ
-
The TorrentN
-
Here is a tale for workmen and their mastersJ
There was a torrent once that down a mountainM
Flashed its resistless way a foaming fountainM
Basaltic built 'twixt cataract hewn pilastersJ
Down from its eagle eyrie nearer nearerD
Its savage beauty born mid rocks and cedarsJ
Swept free as tempest wild as mountain leadersJ
Of stars and storms the swiftly moving mirrorD
Men found it out and set to work to tame itN
Put it to pounding rock and rafting lumberD
Made it a carrier of the filth of citiesJ
Harnessed its joy to engines tried to shame itN
Saying 'Be civilized ' and piled their cumberD
Upon it bound it God of all the PitiesJ

Madison Julius Cawein



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