8 Most Popular Poems by Ogden Nash

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A Word To Husbands

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in Famous Funny Poems

This poem was written by Ogden Nash (1902-1971). Nash was know as a writer of humorous poetry. He wrote over 500 pieces of comic verse. In this poem, Nash sets his vision on the relationship between husband and wife. He points out that silence is often the best policy.

To keep your marriage brimming
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you're wrong, admit it;
Whenever you're right, shut up.

To keep your marriage brimming
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you're wrong, admit it;
Whenever you're right, shut up.
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Interesting. Years ago for our children I made this little rule. They had to periodically repeat it after me.

When you're wrong, admit it.
When you're right, shut up.

I'm an avid...

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The People Upstairs

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in Famous Funny Poems

Ogden Nash captures the frustration of sharing a house or apartment with people who are loud. Having walls that are connected means hearing everything that goes on next door or on the floor above. This humorous poem captures some of the things neighbors think they hear from each other. People who’ve shared walls with neighbors will quickly relate to this poem. Those who’ve never had neighbors that close will be thankful and want to keep it that way.

The people upstairs all practise ballet
Their living room is a bowling alley
Their bedroom is full of conducted tours.
Their radio is louder than yours,

The people upstairs all practise ballet
Their living room is a bowling alley
Their bedroom is full of conducted tours.
Their radio is louder than yours,
They celebrate week-ends all the week.
When they take a shower, your ceilings leak.
They try to get their parties to mix
By supplying their guests with Pogo sticks,
And when their fun at last abates,
They go to the bathroom on roller skates.
I might love the people upstairs more
If only they lived on another floor.
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This poem combines humor and a serious message. It stresses the necessity to live without being disturbed by noisy neighbors. I faced the problem for a long time.

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Winter Morning Poem

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in Famous Nature Poems

This famous poem by Ogden Nash uses descriptive language to show the beauty of snow. Winter is unlike any other season where snow blankets everything it touches. It transforms the land into a magical experience. Ogden Nash (1902-1971) was well-known and appreciated during his lifetime.

Winter is the king of showmen,
Turning tree stumps into snow men
And houses into birthday cakes
And spreading sugar over lakes.

Winter is the king of showmen,
Turning tree stumps into snow men
And houses into birthday cakes
And spreading sugar over lakes.
Smooth and clean and frosty white,
The world looks good enough to bite.
That's the season to be young,
Catching snowflakes on your tongue!
Snow is snowy when it's snowing.
I'm sorry it's slushy when it's going.
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Always Marry An April Girl

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April is a month of tumultuous weather. Some days are dry, sunny, and pristine. Others are cold, stormy, and unenjoyable. Ogden Nash compares women to the month of April. They can be unpredictable. Sometimes they’re sweet and tender. Other times they’re cruel and angry, but in the end, they are loved for who they are.

Praise the spells and bless the charms,
I found April in my arms.
April golden, April cloudy,
Gracious, cruel, tender, rowdy;

Praise the spells and bless the charms,
I found April in my arms.
April golden, April cloudy,
Gracious, cruel, tender, rowdy;
April soft in flowered languor,
April cold with sudden anger,
Ever changing, ever true --
I love April, I love you.
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I was searching for a short poem that encapsulates the love I have for my wife. When I saw this, I knew. My wife's birthday is in April. The double meaning of marrying an April girl really...

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Common Cold

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in Famous Funny Poems

The speaker of this poem suffers from a cold, but to him, it feels much, much worse. He thinks his doctor is crazy for thinking it is simply a cold as he rattles off his symptoms, and he’s irritated to have to pay his doctor for this simple diagnosis. The poet of this poem, Ogden Nash (1902-1971), was considered a hypochondriac himself. This poem is broken into stanzas that have rhyming couplets.

Go hang yourself, you old M.D.!
You shall not sneer at me.
Pick up your hat and stethoscope,
Go wash your mouth with laundry soap;

Go hang yourself, you old M.D.!
You shall not sneer at me.
Pick up your hat and stethoscope,
Go wash your mouth with laundry soap;
I contemplate a joy exquisite
I'm not paying you for your visit.
I did not call you to be told
My malady is a common cold.

By pounding brow and swollen lip;
By fever's hot and scaly grip;
By those two red redundant eyes
That weep like woeful April skies;
By racking snuffle, snort, and sniff;
By handkerchief after handkerchief;
This cold you wave away as naught
Is the damnedest cold man ever caught!

Give ear, you scientific fossil!
Here is the genuine Cold Colossal;
The Cold of which researchers dream,
The Perfect Cold, the Cold Supreme.
This honored system humbly holds
The Super-cold to end all colds;
The Cold Crusading for Democracy;
The Führer of the Streptococcracy.

Bacilli swarm within my portals
Such as were ne'er conceived by mortals,
But bred by scientists wise and hoary
In some Olympic laboratory;
Bacteria as large as mice,
With feet of fire and heads of ice
Who never interrupt for slumber
Their stamping elephantine rumba.

A common cold, gadzooks, forsooth!
Ah, yes. And Lincoln was jostled by Booth;
Don Juan was a budding gallant,
And Shakespeare's plays show signs of talent;
The Arctic winter is fairly coolish,
And your diagnosis is fairly foolish.
Oh what a derision history holds
For the man who belittled the Cold of Colds!
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I Didn't Go To Church Today

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in Famous Funny Poems

Ogden Nash (1902-1971) is a very well-known poet of light verse, and many people have tried to imitate his style. In this light verse, the narrator shares that he hopes God understands why he skipped church that morning. A beautiful day made it impossible to pass up a chance to get to the beach.

I didn't go to church today,
I trust the Lord to understand.
The surf was swirling blue and white,
The children swirling on the sand.

I didn't go to church today,
I trust the Lord to understand.
The surf was swirling blue and white,
The children swirling on the sand.
He knows, He knows how brief my stay,
How brief this spell of summer weather,
He knows when I am said and done
We'll have plenty of time together
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- Rating 3.92
Morning Prayer

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in Famous Children Poems

Ogden Nash was an American poet who lived from 1902-1971 and was known for his light verse. This poem captures the honesty of a child who has a difficult time behaving during the day. It’s much easier when he’s sleeping. It’s a reminder to all of us to look for new opportunities presented each day.

Now another day is breaking,
Sleep was sweet and so is waking.
Dear Lord, I promised you last night
Never again to sulk or fight.

Now another day is breaking,
Sleep was sweet and so is waking.
Dear Lord, I promised you last night
Never again to sulk or fight.
Such vows are easier to keep
When a child is sound asleep.
Today, O Lord, for your dear sake,
I'll try to keep them when awake.
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He did an amazing job on this poem.

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A Lady Who Thinks She Is Thirty

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in Famous Funny Poems

Ogden Nash’s humorous tone comes out in this poem about a woman who wakes up one morning and realizes she has aged. She feels as though she was just twenty-nine the night before. The days have a way of slipping away, and before you realize it, you’re older than you feel. Even though the woman in this poem, Miranda, does not want to age, the speaker assures her that she is still loved and adorned with beauty. This poem is made up of quatrains that follow the ABAB rhyme scheme.

Unwillingly Miranda wakes,
Feels the sun with terror,
One unwilling step she takes,
Shuddering to the mirror.

Unwillingly Miranda wakes,
Feels the sun with terror,
One unwilling step she takes,
Shuddering to the mirror.

Miranda in Miranda's sight
Is old and gray and dirty;
Twenty-nine she was last night;
This morning she is thirty.

Shining like the morning star,
Like the twilight shining,
Haunted by a calendar,
Miranda is a-pining.

Silly girl, silver girl,
Draw the mirror toward you;
Time who makes the years to whirl
Adorned as he adored you.

Time is timelessness for you;
Calendars for the human;
What's a year, or thirty, to
Loveliness made woman?

Oh, Night will not see thirty again,
Yet soft her wing, Miranda;
Pick up your glass and tell me, then--
How old is Spring, Miranda?
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1 - 8 of 8

8 Most Popular Poems by Ogden Nash

This poem was written by Ogden Nash (1902-1971). Nash was know as a writer of humorous poetry. He wrote over 500 pieces of comic verse. In this poem, Nash sets his vision on the relationship between husband and wife. He points out that silence is often the best policy.

This famous poem by Ogden Nash uses descriptive language to show the beauty of snow. Winter is unlike any other season where snow blankets everything it touches. It transforms the land into a magical experience. Ogden Nash (1902-1971) was well-known and appreciated during his lifetime.

Ogden Nash (1902-1971) is a very well-known poet of light verse, and many people have tried to imitate his style. In this light verse, the narrator shares that he hopes God understands why he skipped church that morning. A beautiful day made it impossible to pass up a chance to get to the beach.