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Poem
April 12, 1866
American Citizen
Canton, Madison County, Mississippi
What is this article about?
A satirical poem questioning the excessive adoration mothers have for their babies' flaws and antics, contrasting the speaker's hypothetical restraint with observed foolish indulgence.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
Poetry.
WOULD
Do you think if I'd a baby,
That I'd let him pull my hair?
Do you think I'd put on collars
Just for him to soil and tear?
Do you think I'd call it pretty,
When he bites his little toe?
Yet I've known some silly mothers,
With their babies, do just so.
Do you think I'd set him crying,
Just to see his cunning frown?
Do you think I'd set him walking,
Just to see him tumble down?
Would I call my baby pretty,
When he'd neither teeth nor hair?
Yet I've known some silly mothers,
With their babies, think they are.
Would I buy him drums and rattles,
Just to hear him make a crash?
Would I watch him most delighted
Break my mirror all to smash?
Would I smother him in flannels,
Just because his voice was low?
Dose him up with bella donna?
Silly mothers treat them so.
Would I think his brow Byronic.
Just because it was so bare?
And his head Napoleonic
In its shape-though minus hair?
Could I trace the marks of genius
In his eyebrows, arched and low?
Yet I've known some silly mothers,
With their babies, think just so.
Would I think my baby destined
To become a man of men,
And to govern and control them
By the might of sword or pen?
I dare say these noisy babies
Play the very deuce-I know.
And I've seen the wisest women,
With their babies, think just so.
WOULD
Do you think if I'd a baby,
That I'd let him pull my hair?
Do you think I'd put on collars
Just for him to soil and tear?
Do you think I'd call it pretty,
When he bites his little toe?
Yet I've known some silly mothers,
With their babies, do just so.
Do you think I'd set him crying,
Just to see his cunning frown?
Do you think I'd set him walking,
Just to see him tumble down?
Would I call my baby pretty,
When he'd neither teeth nor hair?
Yet I've known some silly mothers,
With their babies, think they are.
Would I buy him drums and rattles,
Just to hear him make a crash?
Would I watch him most delighted
Break my mirror all to smash?
Would I smother him in flannels,
Just because his voice was low?
Dose him up with bella donna?
Silly mothers treat them so.
Would I think his brow Byronic.
Just because it was so bare?
And his head Napoleonic
In its shape-though minus hair?
Could I trace the marks of genius
In his eyebrows, arched and low?
Yet I've known some silly mothers,
With their babies, think just so.
Would I think my baby destined
To become a man of men,
And to govern and control them
By the might of sword or pen?
I dare say these noisy babies
Play the very deuce-I know.
And I've seen the wisest women,
With their babies, think just so.
What sub-type of article is it?
Satire
What themes does it cover?
Satire Society
What keywords are associated?
Silly Mothers
Babies
Motherhood Satire
Indulgent Parents
Rhetorical Questions
Poem Details
Title
Would
Form / Style
Rhymed Quatrains
Key Lines
Do You Think If I'd A Baby,
That I'd Let Him Pull My Hair?
Yet I've Known Some Silly Mothers,
With Their Babies, Do Just So.
Would I Think His Brow Byronic.
Just Because It Was So Bare?
And I've Seen The Wisest Women,
With Their Babies, Think Just So.