Those Two Boys Poem by Franklin Pierce Adams

Those Two Boys

Rating: 2.7


WHEN Bill was a lad he was terribly bad.
He worried his parents a lot;
He'd lie and he'd swear and pull little girls' hair;
His boyhood was naught but a blot.

At play and in school he would fracture each rule— 5
In mischief from autumn to spring;
And the villagers knew when to manhood he grew
He would never amount to a thing.

When Jim was a child he was not very wild;
He was known as a good little boy;
He was honest and bright and the teacher's delight—
To his mother and father a joy.

All the neighbors were sure that his virtue'd endure,
That his life would be free of a spot;
They were certain that Jim had a great head on him 15
And that Jim would amount to a lot.

And Jim grew to manhood and honor and fame
And bears a good name;
While Bill is shut up in a dark prison cell—
You never can tell.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Asma 19 August 2021

Context

0 0 Reply
i hate everything 02 December 2020

i hate this...it sucks

1 1 Reply
Dianne Parker 22 July 2019

This poem has been misquoted. It was Jim not Bill that wound up in a prison cell. The last line then makes sense. I can only suppose the change was made to turn the poem into a saccharine moral lesson. I prefer the original where the spirited child who does not hide his nature has a chance in life while the apparently compliant one has a dark side.

2 2 Reply
jayden bonds 24 April 2019

bill was bad and jim was a good choice

2 0 Reply
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