Who struts with ludicrous pretension.

I know not—only this I know,

They're getting overstrained, my ditties,

This kind of poem ought to flow

Less like a solemn "Nunc Dimittis."

'Twas jaunty when I struck my lyre,

And jaunty seems this yearling baby;

But, as both year and song expire

They're sadder, each, and wiser, maybe.