A Brat's Reward

At the market Philbert Spicer

Peered into the bacon slicer—

Whiz! the wicked slicer sped

Back and forth across his head

Quickly shaving—what a shock!—

Fifty chips off Phil's old block,

Stopping just above the eyebrows.

Phil's not one of them thar highbrows.

X.J. Kennedy

From Cross Ties: Selected Poems (University
of Georgia Press, 1985), copyright (c) 1985
by X. J. Kennedy. For permission to reprint,
transmit by internet, or for any other purpose,
address Curtis Brown Ltd., Ten Astor Place,
New York, NY 10003.