Arts & Sciences

Sincere Flattery of W. W. (Americanus)

by James Kenneth Stephen 1859–1892

From Lapsus Calami (1891)

Arts & Sciences

The clear cool note of the cuckoo which has ousted the legitimate nest-holder,
The whistle of the railway guard despatching the train to the inevitable collision,
The maiden's monosyllabic reply to a polysyllabic proposal,
The fundamental note of the last trump, which is presumably D natural;
All of these are sounds to rejoice in, yea to let your very ribs re-echo with:
But better than all of them is the absolutely last chord of the apparently inexhaustible pianoforte player.

MLA

Stephen, James Kenneth. “Sincere Flattery of W. W. (Americanus).” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/stephen_jk/3/.

Chicago

Stephen, James Kenneth. “Sincere Flattery of W. W. (Americanus).” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/stephen_jk/3/.

Read this poem with the Codex →

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