OUR QUEER LANGUAGE
When the English tongue
we speak,
Why is 'break' not
rhymed with 'freak' ?
Will you tell me why
it's true,
We say 'sew' but likewise
'few' ?
And the maker of a
verse,
Cannot cap his 'horse'
with 'worse' ?
'Beard' sounds not
the same as 'heard',
'Cord' is different
from 'word';
c - o - w is 'cow'
but l - o - w is 'low';
'Shoe' is never rhymed
with 'foe'.
Think of 'hose' and
'whose' and 'lose',
And think of 'goose'
and yet of 'loose',
Think of 'comb' and
'tomb' and 'bomb';
'Doll' and 'roll'
and 'home' and 'some';
And since 'pay' is
rhymed with 'say',
Why not 'paid' with
'said', I pray ?
We have 'blood' and
'food' and 'good',
Wherefore 'done' and
'gone' and 'lone' ?
Is there any reason
known?
And, in short, it
seems to me,
Sounds and letters
disagree.