R.I.P. LEWIS CARROLL
January 27, 1832 – January 14, 1898
And glying came the Wamble Dog
Barking Lewis Carroll,
He met up with the Bandersnatch,
And tossed him in a barrel.
Published originally in Per Contra Spring 2009 Light Verse Supplement atwww.percontra.net/14lightverseentry.htm. From Wesli Court’s Epitaphs for the Poets, by Lewis Turco, Baltimore, MD: BrickHouse Books, 2012, paperback, ISBN: 978-1-938144-01-1.
R.I.P. ROBERT BURNS
January 25, 1759 - July 21, 1796
He wrote a poem “To a Mouse”
And yet another “To a Louse,”
But such were not his great concerns:
His lovers still love Robbie Burns.
Published originally in Per Contra Spring 2009 Light Verse Supplement atwww.percontra.net/14lightverseentry.htm. From Wesli Court’s Epitaphs for the Poets, by Lewis Turco, Baltimore, MD: BrickHouse Books, 2012, paperback, ISBN: 978-1-938144-01-1.
R.I.P. GEORGE GORDON
January 22, 1799 - April 19, 1824
He never used his club foot on a maiden,
And yet he often managed to get laid in
A damsel’s bed. Did cuckolds sometimes fire on
Him if they happened on the poet snorting
Over their panting women? How unsporting
To force the hasty dismount of Lord Byron!
From Wesli Court’s Epitaphs for the Poets, by Lewis Turco, Baltimore, MD: BrickHouse Books, 2012, paperback, ISBN: 978-1-938144-01-1.
R.I.P. RHINA P. ESPAILLAT
January 20, 1932-
Wander among these monuments
And try to make of rime some sense;
You won't unless you ponder at
A stone marked "Rhina Espaillat."
From Wesli Court’s Epitaphs for the Poets, by Lewis Turco, Baltimore, MD: BrickHouse Books, 2012, paperback, ISBN: 978-1-938144-01-1.
Image by Tomie de Paola
All rights reserved 2014.
R.I.P. HENRY HOWARD
1517-January 19, 1547
He and his friend Sir Thomas Wyatt
Were fathers of the English sonnet
Which did no good, for the puppet jury
Condemned to death the Earl of Surrey.
R.I.P. EDGAR ALLAN POE
January 19, 1809-March 24, 1882
The darkest poet of his time,
He threw a shadow over rime
And now, beneath this dome of woe,
Erato sleeps with Edgar Poe.
Published originally in Per Contra Spring 2009 Light Verse Supplement atwww.percontra.net/14lightverseentry.htm. From Wesli Court’s Epitaphs for the Poets, by Lewis Turco, Baltimore, MD: BrickHouse Books, 2012, paperback, ISBN: 978-1-938144-01-1.
R.I.P. AUSTIN DOBSON
January 18, 1840 – September 2, 1941
Austin Dobson wrote in verse
Forms he found in France. Perverse?
Indeed. He did it anyway,
But he has little more to say.
From Wesli Court’s Epitaphs for the Poets, by Lewis Turco, Baltimore, MD: BrickHouse Books, 2012, paperback, ISBN: 978-1-938144-01-1.
R.I.P. WILLIAM STAFFORD
January 17, 1914 – August 28, 1993
William Stafford couldn’t tell
When he had written something well
Although he tried and tried and tried —
His editors had to decide.
From Wesli Court’s Epitaphs for the Poets, by Lewis Turco, Baltimore, MD: BrickHouse Books, 2012, paperback, ISBN: 978-1-938144-01-1.
R.I.P. ROBERT SERVICE
January 16, 1874-September 11, 1958
His vein of verse was a lucky strike:
He made a fortune from the Klondike.
Though civilization made him nervous,
France saw most of Robert Service.
Published originally in in Per Contra Spring 2009 Light Verse Supplement atwww.percontra.net/14lightverseentry.htm.
R.I.P. ANTHONY HECHT
January 16, 1923 – October 20, 2004
Higgledy-piggledy
Anthony Hecht
Lies here in clover
He didn’t select,
Doubling no dactyls
Hollanderizing
Line after line
To little effect.
From Wesli Court’s Epitaphs for the Poets, by Lewis Turco, Baltimore, MD: BrickHouse Books, 2012, paperback, ISBN: 978-1-938144-01-1.
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