Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A SONNET ON OYSTERS, by CHRISTOPHER DARLINGTON MORLEY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

A SONNET ON OYSTERS, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: To tell the truth, I really never knew
Last Line: The night grif broached that barrel for the bunch!
Alternate Author Name(s): Hall, Galway
Subject(s): Oysters


(Dedicated to Grif Alexander, in honor of a barrel that came from Green Holly
Creek, Patuxent River, Maryland.)

TO tell the truth, I really never knew
What oysters were, until, one night this week,
A barrel came up from Green Holly Creek
And Grif set up a supper for the crew.
First, on the shell, most glorious to view,
Their little sacks, distent and soft and sleek,
Dribbled with acid lemon-juice, and eke
Bill's home-made ketchup. . . . And then came the stew!

A stew, I say, since rhyme must needs be sung,
Though, to be factual, the 'valves were panned --
And then, the Colonel's gorgeous bowl of punch.
O zesty broth, serene upon the tongue,
And ginger cookies, baked by Jim's wife's hand,
The night Grif broached that barrel for the bunch!





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