 | The Absent-Minded Mule |  |
20
The Old Man Obstinate.
Behold he sitteth, hugely, on his stoep,
Stolid, stiff-necked, unreasoning, undiscerning,
Puffed out with bigness, swollen with defiance,
Drunken with coffee.
Stolid, stiff-necked, unreasoning, undiscerning,
Puffed out with bigness, swollen with defiance,
Drunken with coffee.
He lifteth up his hand and cries, ‘My people,
Be ye divided into Dutch and “Loafers;”
And for the “Loafers” here are excellent cudgels,
Kicks and “concessions.”
Be ye divided into Dutch and “Loafers;”
And for the “Loafers” here are excellent cudgels,
Kicks and “concessions.”
‘It shall be so, I say, for God is with me;
It shall be so. I move not, and I quail not;
And if you do not like the things I give you—
You can just lump 'em!’
It shall be so. I move not, and I quail not;
And if you do not like the things I give you—
You can just lump 'em!’
O old man obstinate, we are a fatuous,
Discredited, pusillanimous, played-out nation:
And yet, you know, a thousand things may happen
If Someone sneezes.
Discredited, pusillanimous, played-out nation:
And yet, you know, a thousand things may happen
If Someone sneezes.
June, 1899.
| The Absent-Minded Mule | |