Suppose

Suppose

Original Text
The Poetical Works of Alice and Phoebe Cary (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1882): 323. PS 1263 A1 1882 Robarts Library
1Suppose, my little lady,
2    Your doll should break her head,
3Could you make it whole by crying
4    Till your eyes and nose are red?
5And would n't it be pleasanter
6    To treat it as a joke;
7And say you 're glad "'T was Dolly's
8    And not your head that broke?"
9Suppose you 're dressed for walking,
10    And the rain comes pouring down,
11Will it clear off any sooner
12    Because you scold and frown?
13And would n't it be nicer
14    For you to smile than pout,
15And so make sunshine in the house
16    When there is none without?
17Suppose your task, my little man,
18    Is very hard to get,
19Will it make it any easier
20    For you to sit and fret?
21And would n't it be wiser
22    Than waiting like a dunce,
23To go to work in earnest
24    And learn the thing at once?
25Suppose that some boys have a horse,
26    And some a coach and pair,
27Will it tire you less while walking
28    To say, "It is n't fair?"
29And would n't it be nobler
30    To keep your temper sweet,
31And in your heart be thankful
32    You can walk upon your feet?
33And suppose the world don't please you,
34    Nor the way some people do,
35Do you think the whole creation
36    Will be altered just for you?
37And is n't it, my boy or girl,
38    The wisest, bravest plan,
39Whatever comes, or does n't come,
40    To do the best you can?
RPO poem Editors
Ian Lancashire
RPO Edition
RPO 2000.
Rhyme