The piano and my writing-desk are covered with a pall
And charwomen and chimney-sweeps foregather in the hall;
But the chlorophyll is climbing in the greenwood far away
Oh, ’tis there I’d like to lazy through the silent summer day.
My wife is at the seaside with our younger olive branch,
The elder’s paying visits, and they’ve all ‘ vamosed the ranch ‘ ;
I’m left alone among the crowd that sweeps and paints and plumbs,
With a single-handed housemaid and her fingers are all thumbs.
My study once the kitchen has a door, but not a bolt;
The cat has got distemper, the canary tries to moult
O Yellow Bird of Misery, why can’t you turn to Blue?
Ofelis, called domesticus, a House-Tylette are you !
There’s a pail of creamy liquid with a sanitary smell
It is ‘ durable ‘ and ‘ patent ‘ and it’s ‘ washable ‘ as well
But it’s NOT a wholesome item in the commissariat,
For I think it’s this distemper which has indisposed the cat.
(Frank Sidgwick)
More Poetry from Frank Sidgwick:
Frank Sidgwick Poems based on Topics: Sadness, Cats- An English Poet. (Frank Sidgwick Poems)
- A Study in Pink (Frank Sidgwick Poems)
- When My Ship Comes In (Frank Sidgwick Poems)
- The Not Impossible She: (Frank Sidgwick Poems)
- Macintosh's Lyrical Monologue. (Frank Sidgwick Poems)
- The Velocipedia Britannica. (Frank Sidgwick Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Sadness Poems, Cats PoemsBased on Keywords: item, housemaid, seaside, ranch, durable, plumbs, single-handed, foregather, indisposed, moult, chlorophyll