SubscribeArthur Guiterman Love Quotes and Love Sayings
Posted on Oct 14, 2008 under A, Arthur Guiterman, Humorous poems, On the Vanity of Earthly Greatness | No Comment1. The porcupine, which one must handle gloved, may be respected, but is never loved.
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Excerpt from Wikipedia: Arthur Guiterman (pronounced /ˈɡɪtərmən/; November 20, 1871 – January 11, 1943) was an American writer best known for his humorous poems.
Guiterman was born of American parents in Vienna, graduated from the College of the City of New York in 1891, and was married in 1909 to Vida Lindo. He was an editor of the Woman’s Home Companion and the Literary Digest. In 1910, he co-founded the Poetry Society of America, and later served as its president in 1925-26.
An example of his humor is a poem that talks about modern progress, with rhyming couplets such as “First dentistry was painless;/Then bicycles were chainless”. It ends on a more telling note:
“Now motor roads are dustless,
The latest steel is rustless,
Our tennis courts are sodless,
Our new religions, godless.”
Another Guiterman poem, “On the Vanity of Earthly Greatness“, illustrates the philosophy also incorporated into his humorous rhymes:
“The tusks which clashed in mighty brawls
Of mastodons, are billiard balls.
The sword of Charlemagne the Just
Is Ferric Oxide, known as rust.
The grizzly bear, whose potent hug,
Was feared by all, is now a rug.
Great Caesar’s bust is on the shelf,
And I don’t feel so well myself.”
