Franklin Pierce Adams

"If I have erred, I err in company with Abraham Lincoln."
                - Theodore Roosevelt.

If e'er my rhyming be at fault,
    If e'er I chance to scribble dope,
If that my metre ever halt,
    I err in company with Pope.

An that my grammar go awry,
    An that my English be askew,
Sooth, I can prove an alibi -
    The Bard of Avon did it too.

If often toward the bottled grape
    My errant fancy fondly turns,
Remember, leering jackanape,
    I err in company with Burns.

If now and then I sigh "Mine own!"
    Unto another's wedded wife,
Remember, I am not alone -
    Hast ever read Lord Byron's Life?

If frequently I fret and fume,
    And absolutely will not smile,
I err in company with Hume,
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