Life, 1919-07-10 · page 27 of 50
Life — July 10, 1919 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous poem about Kag the Porcupine—a grumpy, antisocial creature who complains that the world is wrong and despises talkative animals. He wishes to be left alone, and ironically, his prickly quills ensure he gets exactly what he wants: everyone avoids him completely. The satire targets **misanthropic personalities**—those who withdraw from society while simultaneously resenting social interaction. Kag's wish to be "prickly" and "sticky" is granted literally when he becomes "embattled with quills," yet achieves his goal of isolation. The moral is gentle: the misanthrope's defensive nature guarantees the loneliness he claims to want, but the poem suggests this isolation may be self-inflicted rather than deserved. The accompanying illustration shows woodland animals (raccoons, fox, porcupine) in a forest scene, visualizing the creature's solitary status.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
AG the Porcupine poked out his nose (He lived in the wilds where the Allegash flows) ; His whiskers were curly; His temper was surly; He'd risen too early, We'll gently suppose. Kag the Porcupine lumbered along There wasn’t a thing in the woods but was wrong: The world as created Was much ove And, oh! how he That “ Chick-a-dee” song! Kag the Porcupine lurched on his w: The Fox and Wolverene wished him “Good day!" But Kag only mumbled As onward he tumbled ; “Some People,” he grumbled, "Have too much to say!” Kag the Porcupine grumped to the hills, “These Sociable Folks are the worst of my ills! i wish I was prickly And stickly !"—And quickly He found himself thickly Embattled with quills! Kag the Porcupine fumbles the cone, The thistliest, bristliest quadruped known! And nobody frets him, And nobody pets him, But everyone lets him Severely alone!