Friday, February 29, 2008

Quoting Nash's political verse

While not known primarily for his political satire, Ogden Nash didn't hesitate to wield it when so moved. Here is an excerpt from an unnamed Nash poem pertaining to the Japanese's aggressive occupations of the mid-20th century:

How courteous is the Japanese;
He always says, “Excuse it, please.”
He climbs into his neighbor’s garden,
And smiles, and says, “I beg your pardon”;
He bows and grins a friendly grin,
And calls his hungry family in;
He grins, and bows a friendly bow;
“So sorry, this my garden now.”

The poem is a lead in for an editorial in the on current border disputes & fears in Asia.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

BTW, it's not unnamed. "The Japanese" appears on page 233 of "The Face is Familiar" (Garden City Publishing, 1941).

 
Poetry Blog Directory