27. Little Elf. John Kendrick Bangs. Modern American Poetry

Louis Untermeyer, ed. (1885–1977). Modern American Poetry. 1919.

John Kendrick Bangs. 1862–

27. The Little Elf

I MET a little Elf-man, once,
Down where the lilies blow.
I asked him why he was so small,
And why he didn't grow.

He slightly frowned, and with his eye	5
He looked me through and through.
"I'm quite as big for me," said he,
"As you are big for you."