Classic Poem

When Thomas Gray, the famous bard,
Wrote that which made him noted,
He worked egregiously hard
On lines that might be quoted.
For seven years, through woes and ills,
His Muse was exercising;
But
Who paid the meat and grocery bills
While Gray was elegizing?

" No slipshod verses shall be mine, "
He'd tell the impatient printer.
" I'll write it out upon this line
If it consumes all winter! "
And so he wooed the elusive Muse
With zeal uncompromising —
But
Who kept the little Grays in shoes
While Gray was elegizing?

We modern minnesingers waste
No time, no midnight taper;
Our lines are done in fevered haste
To catch the waiting paper.
We rush the rhymes we write to-day
Our guerdon overprizing —
Still —
Who paid the rent for Mrs. Gray
While Gray was elegizing?