James Kenneth Stephen (Джеймс Кеннет Стивен)
The Ballade of the Incompetent Ballade-Monger
I am not ambitious at all: I am not a poet, I know (Though I do love to see a mere scrawl To order and symmetry grow). My muse is uncertain and slow, I am not expert with my tools. I lack the poetic argot: But I hope I have kept to the rules. When your brain is undoubtedly small, 'Tis hard, sir, to write in a row, Some five or six rhymes to "Nepaul," And more than a dozen to "Joe": And meter is easier though, Three rhymes are sufficient for "ghouls," My lines are deficient in go, But I hope I have kept to the rules. Unable to fly let me crawl, Your patronage kindly bestow: I am not the author of "Saul," I am not Voltaire or Rousseau: I am not desirous, oh no! To rise from the ranks of the fools, To shine with Gosse, Dobson, and Co.: But I hope I have kept to the rules. Dear Sir, though my language is low, Let me dip in Pierian pools: My verses are only so-so, But I hope I have kept to the rules.
James Kenneth Stephen’s other poems:
- The Last Ride Together (after Browning)
- After the Golden Wedding (Three Soliloquies)
- Steam-Launches on the Thames
- The Philosopher and the Philanthropist
- My Education
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