Sonett-Forum

Time was I sat upon a lofty stool,
At lofty desk, and with a clearly pen,
Began each morning, at the stroke of ten,
To write in Bell & Co.’s commercial school;

In Warnford Court, a shady nook and cool,
The favourite retreat of merchant men;
Yet would my quill turn vagrant even then,
And take stray dips in the Castalian pool.

Now double entry – now a flowery trope,
Mingling poetic honey with trade wax.
Blogg Brothers – Milton – Grote & Prescott – Pope –
Bristles – and Hogg – Glyn, Mills, and Halifax –
Rogers – and Towgood – Hemp – the Bard of Hope –
Barilla – Byron – Tallow – Burns – and Flax!