THE PESSIMIST
by: Ben King (1857-1899)
- OTHING to
do but work,
- Nothing to eat but food,
- Nothing to wear but clothes
- To keep one from going nude.
-
- Nothing to breathe but air,
- Quick as a flash 't is gone;
- Nowhere to fall but off,
- Nowhere to stand but on.
-
- Nothing to comb but hair,
- Nowhere to sleep but bed,
- Nothing to weep but tears,
- Nothing to bury but dead.
-
- Nothing to sing but songs,
- Ah, well, alas! alack!
- Nowhere to go but out,
- Nowhere to come but back.
-
- Nothing to see but sights,
- Nothing to quench but thirst,
- Nothing to have but what we've got;
- Thus thro' life we are cursed.
-
- Nothing to strike but a gait;
- Everything moves that goes.
- Nothing at all but common sense
- Can ever withstand these woes.
"The Pessimist" is reprinted
from A Nonsense Anthology. Ed. Carolyn Wells. New York:
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1915. |
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POEMS BY BEN KING |
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