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OdeToJoy » 23 Jan 2026, 8:26 pm » wrote: ↑

23 Jan 2026, 8:26 pm

The Crocodile

• Lewis Carroll

 How doth the little crocodile
     Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
     On every golden scale!
How cheerfully he seems to grin,
     How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in,
     With gently smiling jaws

You ever read any Edwin Arlington Robinson?

I'm a big Miniver Cheevy fan. Of Robinson's poems, I have it and Richard Cory committed to memory. 

I also have a ribald poem by Jean de La Fontaine titled, "Hans Carvel's Ring." It is fiendishly clever and well worth a google.

I used to recite poetry silently while doing repetetive tasks on oil rigs. If my fellow roughnecks had known, they'd have held me in less esteem.

That said, even in the roughest company, my rendition of Jabberwocky - physicalized and heavily accented - has never once drawn scorn. Poetry can be made cool in the most boorish company. It's just a matter of making that full commitment.