Flies Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

Rhyme Scheme: AABB CDCDEFEF GHGHIJIJ KLKLMBMB NENEOPOP QRQROSOS ETTTUTVT TWTWTBTB TGTGXYXY ZA2ZA2

I never kill a fly becauseA
I think that what we have of lawsA
To regulate and civilizeB
Our daily life we owe to fliesB
-
Apropos I'll tell you of Choo the spouseC
Of the head of the hunters WungD
Such a beautiful cave they had for a houseC
And a brood of a dozen youngD
And Wung would start by the dawn's red lightE
On the trailing of bird or beastF
And crawl back tired on the brink of nightE
With food for another feastF
-
Then the young would dance in their naked gleeG
And Choo would fuel the fireH
Fur and feather how good to seeG
And to gorge to heart's desireH
Flesh of rabbit and goose and deerI
With fang like teeth they toreJ
And laughed with faces a bloody smearI
And flung their bones on the floorJ
-
But with morning bright the flies would comeK
Clouding into the caveL
You could hardly hear for their noisy humK
They were big and black and braveL
Darkling the day with gust of greedM
They'd swarm in the warm sunriseB
On the litter of offal and bones to feedM
A million or so of fliesB
-
Now flies were the wife of Wung's despairN
They would sting and buzz and biteE
And as her only attire was hairN
She would itch from morn to nightE
But as one day she scratched her hideO
A thought there came to ChooP
If I were to throw the bones outsideO
The flies would go there tooP
-
That spark in a well nigh monkey mindQ
Nay do not laugh or scornR
For there in the thoughts of Choo you'll findQ
Was the sense of Order bornR
As she flung the offal far and wideO
And the fly cloud followed fastS
Battening on the bones outsideO
The cave was clear at lastS
-
And Wung was pleased when he came at nightE
For the air was clean and sweetT
And the cave kids danced in the gay firelightT
And fed on the new killed meatT
But the children Choo would chide and bossU
For her cleanly floor was her prideT
And even the baby was taught to tossV
His bite of a bone outsideT
-
Then the cave crones came and some admiredT
But others were enviousW
And they said She swanks she makes us tiredT
With her complex modern fussW
However most of the tribe compliedT
Though tradition dourly diesB
And a few Conservatives crossly criedT
We'll keep our bones and our fliesB
-
So Reformer Choo was much reveredT
And to all she said You seeG
How my hearth is clean and my floor is cleanedT
And there ain't no flies on meG
And that was how it all beganX
Through horror of muck and messY
Even in prehistoric ManX
LAW ORDER and CLEANLINESS'Y
-
And that is why I never killZ
A fly no matter how obsceneA2
For I believe in God's good willZ
He gave us vermin to make us cleanA2

Robert Service



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