Classic Poem

There's another frayed phrase which I think should be canned—
You know what I mean.
One hears it repeated on every hand—
You know what I mean.
This meaningless tag is affected by people
Who tell you a something as plain as a steeple,
And add, as if fearful you won't understand,
“You know what I mean.”

A cold and wet May means a barnful of hay;
You know what I mean.
The city of Rome was not built in a day;
You know what I mean.
Two and two comes to four; if you add this to seven
You get the astonishing sum of eleven.
A rolling stone gathers no moss, so they say;
You know what I mean.

The phrase, “Do you get me?” is moldy and flat—
You know what I mean.
There are whiskers on “What do you know about that?”
You know what I mean.
As moldy as these, and as whiskered and hoary,
That tag to the triflingest, pifflingest story.
Kersplash in the brine of the Cannery's vat!—
“You know what I mean.”