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Ruthless Rhymes

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Edited by Richard Walker, Saturday, 19 Mar 2016, 18:49

Thinking of the 'Alla Barnen' verses reminded me of Ruthless Rhymes for Heartless Homes by Harry Graham.

I don't know if you are familiar with these: they exploit a strain of black humour. Here's an example

  Father heard his children scream
  So he threw them in the stream
  Saying, as he drowned the third,
  "Children should be seen, not heard!"



Here's my contribution to the genre, an updated version of the Ruthless Rhyme above. 

  When Father heard his children shriek,
  He flung them in an icy creek.
  Musing, as he watched them freeze,
  "That should save on Uni fees!"

Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Graham_(poet)#/media/File:Ruthless_Rhymes_1898.jpg

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