How Pleasant to Know Mr. Lear!

By Edward Lear (1812 – 1888) from A Book of Nonsense

How pleasant to know Mr. Lear!
Who has written such volumes of stuff
Some think him ill-tempered and queer,
But a few think him pleasant enough.

His mind is concrete and fastidious.
His nose is remarkably big ;
His visage is more or less hideous.

His beard it resembles a wig.
He has ears, and two eyes, and ten fingers,
Leastways if you reckon two thumbs;

Long ago he was one of the singers.
But now he is one of the dumbs.
He sits in a beautiful parlour.
With hundreds of books on the wall;

He drinks a great deal of Marsala,
But never gets tipsy at all.

He has many friends, laymen and clerical.
Old Foss is the name of his cat:
His body is perfectly spherical.
He weareth a runcible hat.

When he walks in a waterproof white.
The children run after him so!
Calling out, “He’s come out in his night-
gown, that crazy old Englishman, oh!”

He weeps by the side of the ocean.
He weeps on the top of the hill;
He purchases pancakes and lotion.
And chocolate shrimps from the mill.

He reads but he cannot speak Spanish,
He cannot abide ginger-beer:
Ere the days of his pilgrimage vanish.
How pleasant to know Mr. Lear!

Edward Lear Botanical Humor and Lovely Poem by Mr. Lear