 | Poems and verses by Mary Mapes Dodge |  |
120
LIFE IN LACONICS.
Given a roof, and a taste for rations,
And you have the key to the “wealth of nations.”
And you have the key to the “wealth of nations.”
Given a boy, a tree, and a hatchet,
And virtue strives in vain to match it.
And virtue strives in vain to match it.
Given a pair, a snake, and an apple,
You make the whole world need a chapel.
You make the whole world need a chapel.
Given “no cards,” broad views, and a hovel,
You have a realistic novel.
You have a realistic novel.
Given symptoms and doctors with potion and pill,
And your heirs will ere long be contesting your will.
And your heirs will ere long be contesting your will.
That good leads to evil there 's no denying:
If it were not for truth there would be no lying.
If it were not for truth there would be no lying.
121
“I'm nobody!” should have a hearse;
But then, “I'm somebody!” is worse.
But then, “I'm somebody!” is worse.
“Folks say,” etcetera! Well, they should n't,
And if they knew you well, they would n't.
And if they knew you well, they would n't.
When you coddle your life, all its vigor and grace
Shrink away with the whisper: “We 're in the wrong place.”
Shrink away with the whisper: “We 're in the wrong place.”
“A miss is as good as a mile,” they say.
But I walked two miles and she gave me “nay.”
And the hateful puzzle about all this is,
Two miles did n't turn that Miss into Mrs.
But I walked two miles and she gave me “nay.”
And the hateful puzzle about all this is,
Two miles did n't turn that Miss into Mrs.
| Poems and verses by Mary Mapes Dodge | |