Poetry Museum

Stone Carved by Clark Ashton Smith

One of Theodore Roosevelt's favorite poets to read to his kids was Oliver Herford.  He mentions loving to read one of his poems in his memoirs of the River Doubt Experience.  

This poem comes from his collection, available at Gutenberg, Mythological Zoo. 

Medusa

How did Medusa do her hair?
The question fills me with despair.
It must have caused her sore distress
That head of curling snakes to dress.
Whenever after endless toil
She coaxed it finally to coil,
The music of a passing band
Would cause each seperate hair to stand
On end and sway wand writhe and spit, -
She couldn't "do a thing with it."
And, being woman and aware
Of such disaster to her hair,
What could she do but petrify
All whom she met, with freezing eye.