Click To Go Back
     To Home Page To Home Page
 

                                  All of you who are lonely, please gather to me,
                                  And I will now tell you (though you will owe me a fee)
                                  Of the tale of Mr. Popularity—

                                  Mr. Popularity was known once as Mr. Ignored—
                                  Trying to get paybacks from those he’d done favors for—
                                  He was invisible to them (as I shall soon be to you)
                                  Each time he went to collect what was his rightful due.
                                  None of his friendly phone calls were ever returned,
                                  Even though at least that much is what he had earned,
                                  His mailbox each day was of all correspondence void—
                                  This made Mr. Ignored so depressed and annoyed,

                                  So much so that, in time, Mr. Ignored would forget
                                  To pay for his bills and each other past debt,--
                                  In all his despair he his debts all forsook;
                                  Through so many weeks he of this ignoring partook,
                                  Then—then—one bright day when Mr. Ignored went to look—
                                  His telephone was ringing—right off of the hook!

                                  To Mr. Popularity now he began to mutate—
                                  With phone calls a’coming from early ‘till late,
                                  Then—then to his mailbox he went, to locate
                                  Correspondence!  So Much!—and for many days straight!…

                                  Come, come, lonely souls (now that you owe me)—make note
                                  Now of Mr. Popularity’s not-so-popular quote,
                                  Which (as still he ignored all his callers) he wrote:

                                  “There is just ignorance—ignorance and neglect
                                  For those who endeavor at any time to collect—
                                  If you wish your popularity to grow and to grow
                                  It will…in precise relation to how much that you owe.”