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About This Author
Hi there!
I'm a grandmother, a nursing educator, an avid knitter and an aspiring writer. I created this page for family and friends who expressed interest in reading my writing. It is mostly poetry with a few short stories sprinkled here and there .
The poem on this page is one my Mom favored. The collectible trinket is from a needlework picture of Longfellow's home she completed. Mom loved poetry and was an avid reader. She and my brother, Rasputin   , inspire me still.
I have a published form modification called the Rondel Grand Modified; it is located here:
http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/forums/topic/2842-invented-forms-found-only-at-w...
Drop me a note by clicking on the "Contact Me" link above and let me know you stopped to visit.
Happy reading and write on! |
Poetic Tides Through Time #906703 added March 31, 2017 at 9:30pm
Restrictions: None
A Mortifying Mistake
I studied my tables over and over, and backward and
forward too;
But I couldn't remember six times nine and I didn't know
what to do,
Till sister told me not to plat with my doll, and not to bother
my head.
"If you call her 'Fifty-four' for a while, you'll learn it by
heart," she said.
So I took my favorite, Mary Ann (though I though 'twas
a dreadful shame
To give a perfectly lovely child such a perfectly horrid
name),
And I called her my dear little "Fifty-four" a hundred
times till I knew
The answer of six times nine as well as the answer of two
times two.
Next day Elizabeth Wigglesworth, who always acts so
proud,
Said "Six times nine is fifty-two" and I nearly laughed
aloud!
But I wished I hadn't when the teacher said, "Now, Dorothy,
tell if you can."
For I thought of my doll and - sakes alive!- I answered,
"Mary Ann!"
Anna Marie Pratt [18-?]
From: The Home Book of Verse by Burton Egbert Stevenson, 1917, pg. 166
********************************
Day 8 - "A Mortifying Mistake"  reminds me of both my brother and I trying to learn our multiplication tables, reciting them over and over. I love the approach from the child's perspective by the poetess and especially like the unexpected twist at the end. I think this is such a fun and creative poem! I could not find much about the author but this site suggests she was a teacher: http://www.lehigh.edu/~dek7/SSAWW/writ19CenPrat.htm.
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