'It Is Never Too Late to Mend'
Since it can never be too lateTo change your life, or else renew it,Let the unpleasant process wait,Until you are compelled to do it.The State provides (and gratis too)Establishments for such as you.
Remember this, and pluck up heart,That, be you publican or parson,Your ev'ry art must have a start,From petty larceny to arson;And even in the burglar's trade,The cracksman is not born, but made.
So, if in your career of crime,You fail to carry out some 'coup,'Then try again a second time,And yet again, until you do;And don't despair, or fear the worst,Because you get found out at first.
Perhaps the battle will not go,On all occasions, to the strongest;You may be fairly certain tho'That He Laughs Last who Laughs the Longest.So keep a good reserve of laughter,Which may be found of use hereafter.
Believe me that, howe'er well meant,A good resolve is always brief;Don't let your precious hours be spentIn turning over a new leaf.Such leaves, like Nature's, soon decay,And then are only in the way.
The Road to--well, a certain spot(A road of very fair dimensions),Has, so the proverb tells us, gotA parquet-floor of Good Intentions.Take care, in your desire to please,You do not add a brick to these.
For there may come a moment whenYou shall be mended, willy-nilly,With many more misguided men,Whose skill is undermined with skilly.Till then procrastinate, my friend;'It Never is Too Late to Mend!'
Words in this poem
- gratis adv.
- For nothing; without fee or recompense; freely; gratuitously. [L., contr. fr. gratiis out of favor or kindness, without recompense, for nothing, fr. gratia favor. See Grace.]
- arson n.
- The malicious burning of a dwelling house or outhouse of another man, which by the common law is felony; the malicious and voluntary firing of a building or ship. Wharton. [OF. arson, arsun, fr. L. ardere, arsum, to burn.]
- career n.
- A race course: the ground run over. [F. carrière race course, high road, street, fr. L. carrus wagon. See Car.]
- fairly adv.
- In a fairmanner; clearly; openly; plainly; fully; distinctly; frankly.
- hereafter adv.
- In time to come; in some future time or state. [AS. hræfter.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- procrastinate v. t.
- To put off till to-morrow, or from day to day; to defer; to postpone; to delay; as, to procrastinate repentance. Dr. H. More. [L. procrastinatus, p. p. of procrastinare to procrastinate; pro forward + crastinus of to-morrow, fr. cras to- morrow.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
'It Is Never Too Late to Mend' is in the public domain. This text is taken from Verse and Worse, Project Gutenberg ebook #36702; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Harry Graham, 'It Is Never Too Late to Mend', in Verse and Worse (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36702, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/graham-verse-and-worse/it-is-never-too-late-to-mend.html, id L23339.
Form and metre
'It Is Never Too Late to Mend' is 42 lines in 7 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCC, complete in 6 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABABCC lateA · itB · waitA · itB · tooC · youC
- 2 ABABCC heartA · parsonB · startA · arsonB · tradeC · madeC
- 3 ABABCC crimeA · coupB · timeA · doB · worstC · firstC
- 4 ABABCC goA · strongestB · thoA · longestB · laughterC · hereafterC
- 5 ABABCC meantA · briefB · spentA · leafB · decayC · wayC
- 6 A-A-BB spotA · dimensions · gotA · intentions · pleaseB · theseB
- 7 ABABCC whenA · nillyB · menA · skillyB · friendC · mendC
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Since it can never be too late | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To change your life, or else renew it, | 9 | ······˘/· |
| Let the unpleasant process wait, | 8 | ··˘/˘/·· |
| Until you are compelled to do it. | 9 | ····˘/··· |
| The State provides (and gratis too) | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Establishments for such as you. | 8 | ˘/˘˘···· |
| Remember this, and pluck up heart, | 8 | ˘/˘····· |
| That, be you publican or parson, | 9 | ···/˘˘·/˘ |
| Your ev'ry art must have a start, | 8 | ········ |
| From petty larceny to arson; | 9 | ·/˘/˘˘·/˘ |
| And even in the burglar's trade, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The cracksman is not born, but made. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| So, if in your career of crime, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| You fail to carry out some 'coup,' | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Then try again a second time, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| And yet again, until you do; | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| And don't despair, or fear the worst, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Because you get found out at first. | 8 | ········ |
| Perhaps the battle will not go, | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| On all occasions, to the strongest; | 9 | ··˘/˘··/˘ |
| You may be fairly certain tho' | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| That He Laughs Last who Laughs the Longest. | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| So keep a good reserve of laughter, | 9 | ····˘/·/˘ |
| Which may be found of use hereafter. | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Believe me that, howe'er well meant, | 8 | ˘/······ |
| A good resolve is always brief; | 8 | ··˘/·/·· |
| Don't let your precious hours be spent | 8 | ···/˘/·· |
| In turning over a new leaf. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Such leaves, like Nature's, soon decay, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| And then are only in the way. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The Road to--well, a certain spot | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| (A road of very fair dimensions), | 9 | ···/˘·˘/˘ |
| Has, so the proverb tells us, got | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A parquet-floor of Good Intentions. | 9 | ·˘/···˘/˘ |
| Take care, in your desire to please, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| You do not add a brick to these. | 8 | ········ |
| For there may come a moment when | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| You shall be mended, willy-nilly, | 9 | ···/˘/˘/˘ |
| With many more misguided men, | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| Whose skill is undermined with skilly. | 9 | ····˘/··· |
| Till then procrastinate, my friend; | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| 'It Never is Too Late to Mend!' | 8 | ·/˘····· |
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