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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE KNOWING CHILD, by JOHN GODFREY SAXE Poet's Biography
First Line: Mais, gardez-vous, mon cher,' she said
Last Line: And from a knowing child!
Subject(s): Children; Childhood
First Line: Mais, gardez-vous, mon cher,' she said
Last Line: And from a knowing child!
Subject(s): Children; Childhood
"MAIS, gardez-vous, mon cher," she said
And then the mother smiled;
"Speak very softly, if you please,
He's such a knowing child!"
My simple sister spoke the truth;
There is n't, I suppose,
A thing on earth he should n't know
But what that urchin knows!
And all he knows the younker tells
In such a knowing way;
For what he knows, you may be sure,
He does not fear to say.
He knows he is an arrant churl,
Although he looks so mild;
And -- worst of all -- full well he knows
He is a knowing child.
He knows -- I've often told him so --
I am averse to noise;
He knows his uncle is n't fond
Of martial little boys;
And that, no doubt, is why he pounds
His real soldier drum
Beneath my window, morn and night,
Until my ear is numb!
He knows my age -- that dreadful boy --
Exactly to a day;
He knows precisely why my locks
Have not a thread of gray.
He knows -- and says (what shocking talk
For one so very small!)
My head -- without my curly scratch --
Looks like a billiard ball!
He knows that Mary's headache means
She does n't wish to go;
And lets the sacred secret out
Before her waiting beau!
He knows why Clara always coughs
When she is asked to sing;
He knows (and blabs!) that Julia's bust
Is not the real thing!
He knows about the baby too;
Though he has often heard
The nurse's old, convenient tale,
He don't believe a word
And when those ante-natal caps
Their future use disclose,
He knows again -- the knowing imp --
Just what his uncle knows!
Ah! well; no doubt, what Time may bring
'T is better not to see;
I know not what the changeful Fates
May have in store for me;
But if within the nuptial noose
My neck should be beguiled,
Heaven save the house from childlessness
And from a knowing child!
Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!
Other Poems of Interest...
THE THREE CHILDREN by JOSEPHINE JACOBSEN
CHILDREN SELECTING BOOKS IN A LIBRARY by RANDALL JARRELL
COME TO THE STONE ... by RANDALL JARRELL
THE LOST WORLD by RANDALL JARRELL
A SICK CHILD by RANDALL JARRELL
CONTINENT'S END by ROBINSON JEFFERS
ON THE DEATH OF FRIENDS IN CHILDHOOD by DONALD JUSTICE
THE POET AT SEVEN by DONALD JUSTICE
DEATH AND CUPID; AN ALLEGORY by JOHN GODFREY SAXE