Skip to content ↓

The Tail End of our Tale

The Tail End of our Tale

There may be no language as quirky and irregular as English, nor any language whose words can have such varied meanings and whose letters can be pronounced in such a multitude of ways. That’s the premise behind this old poem I stumbled upon in an old anthology. It is titled, rather unimaginatively, “The English Language.” It’s a good and fun one to read aloud.

A pretty deer is dear to me,
A hare with downy hair:
I love a hart with all my heart,
But barely bear a bear.
‘Tis plain that no one takes a plane
To have a pair of pears;
A rake, though, often takes a rake
To tare away the tares.
All rays raise thyme, time razes all;
And through the whole, hole wears.
A writ, in writing “right,” may write
It “wright,” and still be wrong—
For “write” and “rite” are neither “right,”
And don’t to wright belong.
Beer often brings a bier to man,
Coughing a coffin brings.
And too much ale will make us ail,
As well as other things.
The person lies who says he lies
When he is but reclining;
And, when consumptive folks decline,
They all decline declining.
A quail don’t quail before a storm—
A bough will bow before it;
We cannot rein the rain at all—
No earthly powers reign o’er it.
The dyer dyes awhile, then dies;
To dye he’s always trying,
Until upon his dying-bed
He thinks no more of dyeing.
A son of Mars mars many a sun;
All deys must have their days.
And every knight should pray each night
To Him who weighs his ways.
‘Tis meet that man should mete out meat
To feed misfortune’s son;
The fair should fare on love alone,
Else one cannot be won.
The springs spring forth in Spring, and shoots
Shoot forward one and all;
Though Summer kills the flowers, it leaves
The leaves to fall in Fall.
I would a story here commence,
But you might find it stale;
So let’s suppose that we have reached
The tail end of our tale.


  • Anxiety and Surrender

    Combat Anxiety Through Surrender

    Life is intimidating at times. Sometimes it’s intimidating, sometimes it’s scary, and sometimes it’s downright terrifying. As we gaze into a future that is uncertain or frightening, our natural tendency is to pursue comfort through control. If we can only gain control over the situation, then we can ward off what frightens us and usher…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (March 31)

    A La Carte: “Adolescence” isn’t daring enough / Biblical literacy / I believe in miracles / Christian artists are not priests / The careful justice of hell / Gratitude / and more.

  • Let the Lord Choose

    Let the Lord Choose

    Though we are limited beings with little knowledge, we are proud beings with little humility. When Jesus taught us to pray, he taught us to bring our petitions before the Lord, to bring to him all our cares, all our burdens, all our sorrows. We can and should plead our case before the Lord, for…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (March 29)

    A La Carte: Does God withdraw his presence? / Celebrating the Lord’s Supper / Difficult, emotionally-overwhelming seasons / Wisdom for difficult conversations / Why four gospels? / Sales and deals / and more.

  • New and Notable

    New and Notable Christian Books for March 2025

    As you know, I like to do my best to sort through the new Christian books that are released each month to see what stands out as being not only new but also particularly notable. I received quite a number of new books in March and narrowed the list down to the ones below. I…