A few years ago, I tried to cure my life-long lack of love for poetry by taking a poetry class.  Alas, I am still not a huge fan of poetry, but I admire those of you who are. 

When I was a child, my mother signed me up for elocution lessons.  We had to memorize poems.  Maybe that got me off on the wrong foot, poetry-wise.  None-the-less, I can still recite the first several lines of Kipling’s “IF” and the last lines of Ogden Nash’s “So Pensoroso”.

The latter came to mind last week as politics dominated too many conversations, and the coronavirus loomed.  So if you are looking for support for a bit of bitching, here it is, courtesy of Ogden Nash.

So Pensoroso

…Melancholy is what I brag and boast of,

Melancholy I plan to make the most of.

You beaming optimists shall not destroy it,

But while I am at it, I intend to enjoy it.

Go, people, stuff your mouths with soap,

and remember, please, that when I mope, I mope!*

3/8