How about something from our good friend Anonymous. I think this rhyme is from the Mother Goose Collection originally. How old it is I don't know. One source suggests it might have originated in the words of Elizabethan author John Fletcher (1579-1625) - a contemporary of Shakespeare. The quotation "Deeds, not words" can be found in his Lover's Progress (Act III, sc. 6). It appears to be written out of bitter experience. Its initial jauntiness draws you in until you realise just how horrible the ending is going to be - a bit like words without deeds.
A MAN OF WORDS AND NOT OF DEEDSA man of words and not of deeds
Is like a garden full of weeds;
And when the weeds begin to grow,
It's like a garden full of snow;
And when the snow begins to fall,
It's like a bird upon the wall;
And when the bird away does fly,
It's like an eagle in the sky;
And when the sky begins to roar,
It's like a lion at the door;
And when the door begins to crack,
It's like a stick across your back;
And when your back begins to smart,
It's like a penknife in your heart;
And when your heart begins to bleed,
You're dead, and dead, and dead indeed.
Is like a garden full of weeds;
And when the weeds begin to grow,
It's like a garden full of snow;
And when the snow begins to fall,
It's like a bird upon the wall;
And when the bird away does fly,
It's like an eagle in the sky;
And when the sky begins to roar,
It's like a lion at the door;
And when the door begins to crack,
It's like a stick across your back;
And when your back begins to smart,
It's like a penknife in your heart;
And when your heart begins to bleed,
You're dead, and dead, and dead indeed.
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