Ronnie McGinn's Poetry Page

Vers de saciété is the name of a kind of light verse which comments on the social whirl and the various predicaments of individuals who are caught up in it.

I believe it was Francis Stillman who said that "Light and humorous verse are the effervescence of poetry".

Often serious at bottom, they take the comic view of life as opposed to the tragic; they aim to amuse (and sometimes edify) the reader, to make him smile or even laugh.

Although the comic muse has apparently been downgraded in recent years, with a concurrent critical tendency to assign "importance" only to modern poetry of serious or tragic significance, still there is always room for a laugh!

What the Waitress Saw

The young couple sat at the table,
The waitress served them a meal,
They looked so happy together,
With feelings so hard to conceal,

The waitress smiled at the couple,
But really she longed for a chance,
To be this happily married,
And share in a great romance.

Then suddenly for no reason,
The man seemed to slide off the chair,
The waitress but couldn't help notice,
When he was no longer there,

And so she rushed to the table,
And asked if all was ok?
The lady smiled at the waitress,
And here is what she had to say:

"Please do not look under the table,
There's a reason why he's on the floor,
You see we're not really married,
And his wife just walked in the door."

© Ronnie McGinn