{
 "id": "james-mcintyre/wooden-leg",
 "title": "Wooden Leg",
 "ordinal": null,
 "subtitle": null,
 "poet": "James McIntyre",
 "poet_slug": "james-mcintyre",
 "language": "en",
 "book": "Poems of James McIntyre",
 "book_slug": "poems-of-james-mcintyre",
 "book_kind": "volume",
 "sequence": 87,
 "container": null,
 "epigraph": null,
 "first_published": {
  "year": 1889,
  "venue": "Poems of James McIntyre (1889)",
  "note": "First located printing is this volume; an earlier periodical printing has not been established.",
  "uncertain": false,
  "sources": [
   "https://archive.org/details/cihm_11791"
  ]
 },
 "source": {
  "kind": "standard-ebooks",
  "repo": "standardebooks/james-mcintyre_poetry",
  "file": "poetry.xhtml",
  "upstream": [
   "https://archive.org/details/cihm_09542",
   "https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/36068",
   "https://archive.org/details/cihm_11791"
  ],
  "rights": "public domain (SE dedication; underlying text pre-1931)"
 },
 "verification": {
  "level": "structural-only",
  "last_checked": "2026-08-20"
 },
 "stats": {
  "n_lines": 32,
  "n_stanzas": 8,
  "n_parts": 0,
  "longest_line_chars": 37,
  "max_indent": 0
 },
 "site_ready": true,
 "parts": [],
 "stanzas": [
  [
   {
    "text": "Misfortune sometimes is a prize,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "And is a blessing in disguise;",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "A man with a stout wooden leg,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "Through town and country he can beg.",
    "indent": 0
   }
  ],
  [
   {
    "text": "And the people in the city,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "On poor man they do take pity;",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "He points them to his timber leg",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "And tells them of his poor wife, Meg.",
    "indent": 0
   }
  ],
  [
   {
    "text": "And if a dog tries him to bite,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "With his stiff leg he doth him smite,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "Or sometimes he will let him dig",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "His teeth into the wooden leg.",
    "indent": 0
   }
  ],
  [
   {
    "text": "Then never more will dog delight",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "This poor cripple man for to bite;",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "Rheumatic pains they never twig,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "Nor corns annoy foot of leg.",
    "indent": 0
   }
  ],
  [
   {
    "text": "So cripple if he’s man of sense,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "Finds for ills some recompense;",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "And though he cannot dance a jig,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "He merry moves on wooden leg.",
    "indent": 0
   }
  ],
  [
   {
    "text": "And when he only has one foot,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "He needs to brush only one boot;",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "Through world he does jolly peg,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "So cheerful with his wooden leg.",
    "indent": 0
   }
  ],
  [
   {
    "text": "In mud or water he can stand",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "With his foot on the firm dry land,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "For wet he doth not care a fig,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "It never hurts his wooden leg.",
    "indent": 0
   }
  ],
  [
   {
    "text": "No aches he has but on the toes",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "Of one foot, and but one gets froze;",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "He has many a jolly rig,",
    "indent": 0
   },
   {
    "text": "And oft enjoys his wooden leg.",
    "indent": 0
   }
  ]
 ]
}