The Wallace Collection

 

Nothing dusty - nothing dreary

All things fluffy - all things cheery

Nothing nasty or unpleasant

Nothing dead that’s not a pheasant

 

Or something that’s been shot for fun

And posing , lying with a gun

With a melon , furred and feathered

And a sculpture of a cupid

All things dumb and all things stupid

 

Things beloved by the rich

All things glossy , all things kitsch

All things overpriced and cheesy

Dressed in satin , posh and easy

Lounge around the Champs Elysee

 

Lets go strolling , sun is shining

Lets go lounging , wining , dining

Grapes are eaten by the bunch

When we’ve finished - lets have lunch

 

Deshabille in silk and satin

A statue with some words in Latin

Spread a picnic on the grass

Stare into a looking glass

 

All things fancy - convoluted

Everything that’s faffed and fluted

Marble topped and decorated

Ormolu and armor plated

 

Rearing horses , raging bulls

Massive curtains , tasselled pulls

All things gilded , all things nude

But all tasteful - nothing rude

 

No Apocalypse is here

Plague and famine come not near

Nothings mars the tranquil pleasures

Painted on these heaped up treasures

 

No martyrs hold their torture tongs

Instead a swain sings rustic songs

Here are bouncy nymphs and shepherds

Cockatoos and apes and leopards

 

Teary children roll their eyes

Ever upwards to the skies

Innocent , the little loves

Clutching kittens , spaniels , doves

 

Here’s the Laughing cavalier

Here a muscled gondalier

Someone’s holiday romance

Wears the tightest of tight pants

 

 Canalettos bought when he

went out on a shopping spree

Souvenirs of Greece and Rome

And things you wouldn’t do at home

 

All things gilded - all things pink

not a lot to make you think

Barbara Cartland - this is bliss

Just don’t ask who paid for this

 

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