tdaxp

"Exit, Pursued by a Bear," by Ogden Nash, 1954.

From my old hardcover 5th edition of Roberts' and Jacobs Literatue: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, used in Mrs. Sittig's AP English class:

Exit, Pursued by a Bear

Chipmunk chewing on the Chippendale,
Mice on the Meissen shelf,
Pigeon stains on the Aubusson,
Spider lace on the delf.

Squirrel climbing on the Sheraton,
Skunk on the Duncan Phyfe,
Silverfish in the Gobelins
And the calfbound volumes of Life

Pocks on the pink Picasso,
Dust on the four Cezannes,
Kit on the keys of the Steinway,
Cat on the Louis Quinze.

Rings on the Adam mantel,
From a thousand bygone thirsts,
Mold on the Henry Millers,
And the Ronald Firbank firsts.

The lion and the lizard
No heavenly harmonies hear
From the high-fidelity speaker
Concealed behind the Vermeer.

Jamshid squats in a cavern
Screened by a waterfall,
Catered by Heinz and Campbell,
And awaits the fireball.