To a Thesaurus

T

Franklin Pierce Adams

Franklin Pierce Adams

O precious codex, volume, tome,

Book, writing, compilation, work,

Attend the while I pen a pome,

A jest, a jape, a quip, a quirk.

For I would pen, engross, indite,

Transcribe, set forth, compose, address,

Record, submit–yea, even write

An ode, an elegy to bless–

To bless, set store by, celebrate,

Approve, esteem, endow with soul,

Commend, acclaim, appreciate,

Immortalize, laud, praise, extol

Thy merit, goodness, value, worth,

Experience, utility–

O manna, honey, salt of earth,

I sing, I chant, I worship thee!

How could I manage, live, exist,

Obtain, produce, be real, prevail,

Be present in the flesh, subsist,

Have place, become, breathe or inhale

Without thy help, recruit, support,

Opitulation, furtherance,

Assistance, rescue, aid, resort,

Favour, sustention, and advance?

Alack! Alack! and well-a-day!

My case would then be dour and sad,

Likewise distressing, dismal, gray,

Pathetic, mournful, dreary, bad.

Though I could keep this up all day,

This lyric, elegiac, song,

Meseems hath come the time to say

Farewell! Adieu! Good-by! So long!

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Bricks and Straw by Franklin Pierce Adams

Franklin Pierce Adams

My desk is cleared of the litter of ages;
Before me glitter the fair white pages;
My fountain pen is clean and filled,
And the noise of the office has long been stilled.
Roget’s Thesaurus is at my hand,
And I’m ready to do some work that’s grand,
Dignified, eminent, great, momentous,
Memorable, worthy of note, portentous,
Beautiful, paramount, vital, prime,
Stirring, eventful, august, sublime.
For this is the way, I have read and heard,
That authors look for the fitting word.
All of the proud ingredients mine
To build, like Marlowe, the mighty line.
But never a line from my new-filled pen

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