ProZ.com Translation Forums

An old poem | Thank you all

George Hopkins — Wed, 23 Apr 2003 15:56:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: An old poem
Poster: George Hopkins
Post title: Thank you all

Everybody has their faults, except me.
[addsig]

An old poem | More gossip poems

Jack Doughty — Wed, 23 Apr 2003 14:18:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: An old poem
Poster: Jack Doughty
Post title: More gossip poems

THIS WAS TOLD ME IN CONFIDENCE

by Ogden Nash.

Oh, I do like a little bit of gossip

In the course of a cosy little chat,

And I often wonder why

My neighbors all imply

Im a pussy, Im a tabby, Im a cat.

Mrs. Dooley murmured Miaow! at me this morning;

Mrs. Cohen would have cut me if she could;

But my feelings arent so filmy

That names are going to kill me,

And a little bit of gossip does me good.

Oh, I do like a little bit of gossip;

I am pleased with Mr. Moffats double life.

Its provocative to watch

Mr. Taylor guzzle scotch;

I wonder if he knows about his wife?

The sheriff wants a word with Mrs. Walker;

She doesnt pay her bills the way she should.

Yet I hear from several sources

That she gambles on the horses

Oh, a little bit of gossip does me good.

Oh, I do like a little bit of gossip;

It seems to lend a savor to my tea;

The deplorable mistakes

That everybody makes

Are calories and vitamins to me.

If I tell you Mrs. Drew is off to Reno,

You are not to breathe a word, thats understood;

For I said to Mrs. Drew

That I heard it all from you

Oh, a little bit of gossip does me good.

Oh, I do like a little bit of gossip,

But for scandal or for spite theres no excuse;

To think of Mrs. Page

Telling lies about my age!

Well, her tongue is like her morals, rather loose.

Mrs. Murgatroyd eats opium for breakfast,

And claims Im running after Mr. Wood;

That sort of vicious slander

Arouses all my dander

But a little bit of gossip does me good.

AT LAST THE SECRET IS OUT

by W.H. Auden

At last the secret is out, as it always must come in the end,

The delicious story is ripe to tell to the intimate friend;

Over the tea-cups and in the square the tongue has its desire;

Still waters run deep, my dear, theres never smoke without fire.

Behind the corpse in the reservoir, behind the ghost on the links,

Behind the lady who dances and the man who madly drinks,

Under the look of fatigue, the attack of migraine and the sigh,

There is always another story, there is more than meets the eye

For the clear voice suddenly singing, high up in the convent wall,

The scent of the elder bushes, the sporting prints in the hall,

The croquet matches in summer, the handshake, the cough, the kiss,

There is always a wicked secret, a private reason for this.

[ This Message was edited by: jdoughty on 2003-04-23 17:00]

An old poem | Gossip

two2tango — Wed, 23 Apr 2003 12:14:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: An old poem
Poster: two2tango
Post title: Gossip

It was John Brantingham talking about gossip, according to:

[url removed]

Curiously, the same page quotes the same phrase a few lines down as the words of Robert Louis Stevenson.

I also found there the following on gossip:

And there \'s a lust in man no charm can tame

Of loudly publishing our neighbour\'s shame;

On eagles\' wings immortal scandals fly,

While virtuous actions are but born and die.

Stephen Harvey (circa 1627):

Juvenal, Satire ix

[ This Message was edited by: two2tango on 2003-04-23 12:18]

An old poem | James Truslow Adams

Pernille Chapman — Wed, 23 Apr 2003 08:56:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: An old poem
Poster: Pernille Chapman
Post title: James Truslow Adams

- is the author, at least according to this link:

[url removed]

Most other sites, like yourself, quote this as \"Author unknown\" or similar, so the above may be doubtful. I\'ll leave it to you to do any further research, if you so wish

Thanks for sharing this, anyway.

An old poem

sylver — Wed, 23 Apr 2003 03:58:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: An old poem
Poster: sylver

Author is unknown (to me at least) but the content would deserve a bit more fame as well.

\"There is so much bad in the best of us

And so much good in the worst of us

That it ill behooves any of us

To talk about the rest of us\"

PS 1: Behooves=to be morally necessary or proper

PS 2: Those who think I ought to ponder on that one too are certainly right.