When the English tongue we speak

Why is "break" not rhymed with "weak"?

When we want to make a verse,
We can't rhyme a "horse" with "worse".
"Beard" is different from "heard",
"Lord" is not pronounced like "word";
"Cow" is cow, but "show" is show;
"Do" is never rhymed with "go".
Think of "rose" and "nose" and "lose",
And of "goose" and yet of "choose".
"Cough" and "through" don't rhyme with "plough"
Nor do "rough" with "dough" with "bough".
Don't rhyme "flood" or "food" with "good",
You'd be laughed at if you should.
We have "year" and "hear" and "pear",
"Come" and "home", and "are" and "care",
"Five" and "give", and "boot" and "foot",
"Post" and "cost", and "shut" and "put".
And since "lay" is rhymed with "say",
Why not "laid" with "said" I pray?
Wherefore "done" and "gone" and "stone"?
Is there any reason known?
And in short it seems to me
Sounds and letters disagree.
When the English tongue we speak
Why is "break" not rhymed with "weak"?
When we want to make a verse,
We can't rhyme a "horse" with "worse".
"Beard" is different from "heard",
"Lord" is not pronounced like "word";
"Cow" is cow, but "show" is show;
"Do" is never rhymed with "go".
Think of "rose" and "nose" and "lose",
And of "goose" and yet of "choose".
"Cough" and "through" don't rhyme with "plough"
Nor do "rough" with "dough" with "bough".
Don't rhyme "flood" or "food" with "good",
You'd be laughed at if you should.
We have "year" and "hear" and "pear",
"Come" and "home", and "are" and "care",
"Five" and "give", and "boot" and "foot",
"Post" and "cost", and "shut" and "put".
And since "lay" is rhymed with "say",
Why not "laid" with "said" I pray?
Wherefore "done" and "gone" and "stone"?
Is there any reason known?
And in short it seems to me
Sounds and letters disagree.