And What Have You To Say?
Henry Lawson 1867 (Grenfell) – 1922 (Sydney)
I MIND the days when ladies fair
Helped on my overcoat,
And tucked the silken handkerchief
About my precious throat;
They used to see the poet’s soul
In every song I wrote.
They pleaded hard, but I had work
To do, and could not stay
I used to work the whole night through,
And what have you to say?
’Twas clever, handsome woman then,
And I their rising star;
I could not see they worshipped me,
Because I saw too far.
(’Tis well for one or two, I think,
That things are as they are.)
(I used to write for writing’s sake,
I used to write till day,
I loved my prose and poetry,
And what have you to say?)
I guess if one should meet me now
That she would gasp to think,
She ever knew a thing like me,
As down the street I slink,
And trembling cadge from some old pal
The tray-bit for a drink.
I used to drink with gentlemen
To pass an hour away:
I drink long beers in common bars,
And what have you to say?
But often, in the darkest night
(And ’tis a wondrous thing)—
When others see the devils dance,
I hear the angels sing,
And round the drunkard’s lonely bed
Heaven’s nurses whispering.
I wrote for Truth and Right alone,
I wrote from night till day;
I’ll find a drunken pauper grave,
And what have you to say?
Good night!
Good day!
My noble friends,
And what have you to say?
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:16 min read
- 108 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | xaxaxa bcxC xdedfd xceC xfebxf xcxC ghxhxh xcxCgcxC |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,259 |
Words | 256 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 4, 6, 4, 6, 4, 6, 8 |
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"And What Have You To Say?" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/17727/and-what-have-you-to-say?>.
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