[New-Poetry] Aphorisms

[Rsgwynn1 at cs.com]

> Poem: "Proverbial Ballade" by Wendy Cope from Making Cocoa for Kingsley 
> Amis. © Faber &Faber. (buy now)
> 
> Proverbial Ballade
> 
> Fine words won't turn the icing pink;
> A wild rose has no employees;
> Who boils his socks will make them shrink;
> Who catches cold is sure to sneeze.
> Who has two legs must wash his knees;
> Who breaks the egg will find the yolk;
> Who locks his door will need his keys—
> So say I and so say the folk.
> 
> You can't shave with a tiddlywink,
> Nor make red wine from garden peas,
> Nor show a blindworm how to blink,
> Nor teach an old raccoon Chinese.
> The juiciest orange feels the squeeze;
> Who spends his portion will be broke;
> Who has no milk can make no cheese—
> So say I and so say the folk.
> 
> He makes no blot who has no ink,
> Nor gathers honey who keeps no bees.
> The ship that does not float will sink;
> Who'd travel far must cross the seas.
> Lone wolves are seldom seen in threes;
> A conker ne'er becomes an oak;
> Rome wasn't built by chimpanzees—
> So say I and so say the folk.
> 
> Envoi
> 
> Dear friends! If adages like these
> Should seem banal, or just a joke,
> Remember fish don't grow on trees—
> So say I and so say the folk.
>  
    



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