 | The collected works of Ambrose Bierce |  |
340
HOMO PODUNKENSIS
As the poor ass that from his paddock straysMight sound abroad his field-companions' praise,
Recounting volubly their well-bred leer,
Their port impressive and their wealth of ear,
Mistaking for the world's assent the clang
Of echoes mocking his accurst harangue;
So the dull clown, untraveled though at large,
Visits the city on the ocean's marge,
Expands his eyes and marvels to remark
Each coastwise schooner and each alien bark;
Prates of “all nations”, wonders as he stares
That native merchants sell imported wares,
Nor comprehends how in his very view
A foreign vessel has a foreign crew;
Yet, faithful to the hamlet of his birth,
Swears it superior to aught on earth,
Sighs for the temples locally renowned,
The village school-house and the village pound,
And chalks upon the palaces of Rome
The peasant sentiments of “Home, Sweet Home!”
| The collected works of Ambrose Bierce | |