Sotie

Sotie

(The lion-huntress accounts for one of her rather more unprepossessing guests)

SMALL crumbs of glass he had for eyesThat blinked, myopically wise.Like midnight suns his laughter froze,Suavely sterile and morose.All bistre-brown, an eerie sight,As shrivelled as a CenobiteLong vagrant in the Thebaid,He quite miraculously hid.But after many years he cameTo town, and found it just the same.He had his hair cut in the StrandAnd manicured each psychic hand.He wrote a book on CerementsOr some such furtive elements;He got a title for his pains,I’m told he has terrific brains!He had his little eyes exchangedFor larger ones—Mix X. arrangedHis skin (enamel so they say!)And so I had him here to stay.With eucalyptus in his hair,He trims his beard if people stare.He loves to sip beneath the shadeThe languid green of lemonade.

SMALL crumbs of glass he had for eyesThat blinked, myopically wise.Like midnight suns his laughter froze,Suavely sterile and morose.All bistre-brown, an eerie sight,As shrivelled as a CenobiteLong vagrant in the Thebaid,He quite miraculously hid.But after many years he cameTo town, and found it just the same.He had his hair cut in the StrandAnd manicured each psychic hand.He wrote a book on CerementsOr some such furtive elements;He got a title for his pains,I’m told he has terrific brains!He had his little eyes exchangedFor larger ones—Mix X. arrangedHis skin (enamel so they say!)And so I had him here to stay.With eucalyptus in his hair,He trims his beard if people stare.He loves to sip beneath the shadeThe languid green of lemonade.

SMALL crumbs of glass he had for eyesThat blinked, myopically wise.Like midnight suns his laughter froze,Suavely sterile and morose.

SMALL crumbs of glass he had for eyes

That blinked, myopically wise.

Like midnight suns his laughter froze,

Suavely sterile and morose.

All bistre-brown, an eerie sight,As shrivelled as a CenobiteLong vagrant in the Thebaid,He quite miraculously hid.

All bistre-brown, an eerie sight,

As shrivelled as a Cenobite

Long vagrant in the Thebaid,

He quite miraculously hid.

But after many years he cameTo town, and found it just the same.He had his hair cut in the StrandAnd manicured each psychic hand.

But after many years he came

To town, and found it just the same.

He had his hair cut in the Strand

And manicured each psychic hand.

He wrote a book on CerementsOr some such furtive elements;He got a title for his pains,I’m told he has terrific brains!

He wrote a book on Cerements

Or some such furtive elements;

He got a title for his pains,

I’m told he has terrific brains!

He had his little eyes exchangedFor larger ones—Mix X. arrangedHis skin (enamel so they say!)And so I had him here to stay.

He had his little eyes exchanged

For larger ones—Mix X. arranged

His skin (enamel so they say!)

And so I had him here to stay.

With eucalyptus in his hair,He trims his beard if people stare.He loves to sip beneath the shadeThe languid green of lemonade.

With eucalyptus in his hair,

He trims his beard if people stare.

He loves to sip beneath the shade

The languid green of lemonade.


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