The poem
I bought a cuckoo clock And glad was I To hear its tick and tock, Its dulcet cry. But Jones, whose wife is young And pretty too, Winced when that bird gave tongue: Cuckoo! Cuckoo!
I have a lady friend Whom I would wed, For dalliance should end In bridal bed. Until the thought occurred: Can she be true? And then I heard that bird: Cuckoo! Cuckoo!
Though ignorance is bliss And love be blind, Faithless may be the kiss Of womankind. So now sweet echoes mock My wish to woo: Confound that cursed clock! Cuckoo! Cuckoo!