The Old Gumbie Cat Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: AABB CCDDAAEE AABB CCFFEEAA AABB CCGGAAGG AA| I have a Gumbie Cat in mind her name is Jennyanydots | A |
| Her coat is of the tabby kind with tiger stripes and leopard spots | A |
| All day she sits upon the stair or on the steps or on the mat | B |
| She sits and sits and sits and sits and that's what makes a Gumbie Cat | B |
| - | |
| But when the day's hustle and bustle is done | C |
| Then the Gumbie Cat's work is but hardly begun | C |
| And when all the family's in bed and asleep | D |
| She tucks up her skirts to the basement to creep | D |
| She is deeply concerned with the ways of the mice | A |
| Their behaviour's not good and their manners not nice | A |
| So when she has got them lined up on the matting | E |
| She teachs them music crocheting and tatting | E |
| - | |
| I have a Gumbie Cat in mind her name is Jennyanydots | A |
| Her equal would be hard to find she likes the warm and sunny spots | A |
| All day she sits beside the hearth or on the bed or on my hat | B |
| She sits and sits and sits and sits and that's what makes a Gumbie Cat | B |
| - | |
| But when the day's hustle and bustle is done | C |
| Then the Gumbie Cat's work is but hardly begun | C |
| As she finds that the mice will not ever keep quiet | F |
| She is sure it is due to irregular diet | F |
| And believing that nothing is done without trying | E |
| She sets right to work with her baking and frying | E |
| She makes them a mouse cake of bread and dried peas | A |
| And a beautiful fry of lean bacon and cheese | A |
| - | |
| I have a Gumbie Cat in mind her name is Jennyanydots | A |
| The curtain cord she likes to wind and tie it into sailor knots | A |
| She sits upon the window sill or anything that's smooth and flat | B |
| She sits and sits and sits and sits and that's what makes a Gumbie Cat | B |
| - | |
| But when the day's hustle and bustle is done | C |
| Then the Gumbie Cat's work is but hardly begun | C |
| She thinks that the cockroaches just need employment | G |
| To prevent them from idle and wanton destroyment | G |
| So she's formed from that lot of disorderly louts | A |
| A troop of well disciplined helpful boy scouts | A |
| With a purpose in life and a good deed to do | G |
| And she's even created a Beetles' Tattoo | G |
| - | |
| So for Old Gumbie Cats let us now give three cheers | A |
| On whom well ordered households depend it appears | A |
T. S. Eliot
(1)
Poem topics: , Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme
Submit Spanish Translation
Submit German Translation
Submit French Translation
Write your comment about The Old Gumbie Cat poem by T. S. Eliot
Best Poems of T. S. Eliot