 | A little book of tribune verse |  |
110
THE FRONT GATE.
An old and crippled gate am I,
And twenty years have passed
Since I was swung up high and dry
Betwixt these posts so fast;
And now I've grown so powerful weak,
Despised by man and beast,
I'm scarcely strong enough to squeak,
Although I'm never greased.
And twenty years have passed
Since I was swung up high and dry
Betwixt these posts so fast;
And now I've grown so powerful weak,
Despised by man and beast,
I'm scarcely strong enough to squeak,
Although I'm never greased.
'Twas twenty years ago, I say,
When Mr. Enos White
Came kind of hanging 'round my way,
'Most every other night,
He hung upon my starboard side
And she upon the other,
Till Susan Smith became his bride
And in due time a mother.
When Mr. Enos White
Came kind of hanging 'round my way,
'Most every other night,
He hung upon my starboard side
And she upon the other,
Till Susan Smith became his bride
And in due time a mother.
I groaned intensely when I heard,
Despite I am no churl,
My doom breathed in a single word,
The baby was a girl!
And as she grew and grew and grew,
I loud bemoaned my fate,
For she was very fair to view,
And I—I was the gate!
Despite I am no churl,
My doom breathed in a single word,
The baby was a girl!
And as she grew and grew and grew,
I loud bemoaned my fate,
For she was very fair to view,
And I—I was the gate!
111
Then, in due time a lover came,
Betokening my ruin,
A dapper fellow, Brown by name,
The grown-up baby wooin';
They swung upon me in the gloam,
And talked of moon and star,
They're married now and live at home
Along with ma and pa.
Betokening my ruin,
A dapper fellow, Brown by name,
The grown-up baby wooin';
They swung upon me in the gloam,
And talked of moon and star,
They're married now and live at home
Along with ma and pa.
My lot was happy for a year,
No courting, night or day,
I had no thought, I had no fear,
Bad luck would come my way;
But oh, this morning—save the mark!
There came a wild surprise,
A shadow flitted grim and dark
Across my sunny skies.
No courting, night or day,
I had no thought, I had no fear,
Bad luck would come my way;
But oh, this morning—save the mark!
There came a wild surprise,
A shadow flitted grim and dark
Across my sunny skies.
A doctor, with a knowing smile,
A nurse with face serene,
A bustle in the house a while,
Great scot! what can it mean?
My hinges ache, my lock is weak,
My pickets are awhirl,
I hear that awful doctor speak,
It is another girl!
A nurse with face serene,
A bustle in the house a while,
Great scot! what can it mean?
My hinges ache, my lock is weak,
My pickets are awhirl,
I hear that awful doctor speak,
It is another girl!
January 26th, 1883.
| A little book of tribune verse | |