The [Self-Portrait] of the [Laureate] of [Nonsense]

How [pleasant] to know Mr Lear!
Who has written such [volumes of stuff]!
Some think him [ill-tempered] and queer,
But a few think him pleasant enough.

His mind is concrete and [fastidious],
His nose is remarkably big;
His [visage] is more or less hideous,
[His beard it resembles a wig].

He has ears, and two eyes, and [ten fingers],
[Leastways] if you reckon two thumbs;
Long ago he was one of the singers,
But now he is one of the [dumbs].

He sits in a [beautiful] parlour,
With hundreds of books on the wall;
He drinks a great deal of [Marsala],
But never gets tipsy at all.

He has many friends, [laymen] and [clerical];
[Old Foss] is the name of his cat;
His body is perfectly [spherical],
[He weareth a runcible hat].

When he walks in a [waterproof white],
The children run after him so!
[Calling] out, "He's come out in his night-
Gown, that crazy old [Englishman], oh!"

He [weeps] by the side of the ocean,
He weeps on the top of the hill;
He purchases [pancakes] and [lotion],
And [chocolate shrimps] from the mill.

He reads but he cannot speak [Spanish],
He cannot abide [ginger-beer]:
Ere the days of his [pilgrimage] vanish,
[How pleasant to know Mr Lear]!

- [Edward Lear], nonsensical [self-portrait], 1877

The Self-Portrait of the Laureate of Nonsense