 | An Optimist |  |
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An Optimist
I
De worl' 's all right jes lak it is,Beca'se de good Laud made it so.
Hain't nothin' in it gone amiss,
Excep' de folks 'at grumbles so.
W'y, evahthing jes suits ma style,
'N' yourn, 'n' evahbody's, chile;
'N' ef you 'll ph'losophize awhile,
You 'll have to 'gree de thing is so.
II
You see dem fishes in de rill?Dey 's glad dey was created so;
Dem cattle, grazin' on de hill,
Dey great Creatah's praises low.
De streams is laughin' es dey run;
De lambs jes capahs roun' foh fun—
I 's jes es smaht es dey is, son:
I 'm hyeah; 'n' I 'm glad it 's so!
III
Some folks, it seem lak 'ca'se dey can'tJes undahstan' why things is so,
Dey 'll fret an' fume an' whine an' rant
'Bout this 'n' that, 'n' thus 'n' so.
Now, lookee hyeah, dey ain't no use
In all 'at nonsense an' abuse:
Jes be a human, not a goose;
Beca'se de good Laud made you so.
IV
De worl' an' all 'at libs in itShould thank de Laud 'at made it so;
'Ca'se evahthing seem jes to fit
(De good Laud he jes fixed it so):
De grass is jes lak grass should be,
De propah colah 's in de sea;
Moles, mountains, fishes, you 'n' me,
De Laud created all jes so.
V
He mout o' made de fool a mule—I thanks de Laud he did n't, dough;
He mout o' gib de white folks wool—
De white man 's glad to stay jes so.
God mout o' made de black man white,
'N' sot de whole race problem right;
But, sence he did n't, le' 's not fight
'N' qua'l; de good Laud lef' us so.
VI
'N' ef we can't explain 'n' proveDe good Laud's doin's, so 'n' so,
'N' tell whut makes creation move,
Le' 's say, es Pat did once, jes so:
“Th' idee av th' plan wuz great;
Th' way it 's worrikin' can't be bate;
It 's filled th' bill clane up to date:
Le' 's thank th' Laud, an' lave it so.”
James D. Corrothers.
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