My name is Tommy, an' I hates
That feller of my sister Kate's,
He's bigger'n I am an' you see
He's sorter lookin' down on me,
An' I resents it with a vim;
I think I am just as good as him.
He's older, an' he's mighty fly,
But's he's a kid, an' so am I.
One time he came,--down by the gate,
I guess it must have been awful late,--
An' Katie, she was there, an' they
Was feelin' very nice and gay,
An' he was talkin' all the while
About her sweet an' lovin' smile,
An' everythin' was as nice as pie,
An' they was there, an' so was I.
They didn't see me, 'cause I slid
Down underneath a bush, an' hid,
An' he was sayin' that his love
Was greater'n all the stars above
Up in the glorious heavens placed;
An' then His arms got 'round her waist,
An' clouds were floatin' in the sky,
And they was there, an' so was I.
I didn't hear just all they said,
But by an' by my sister's head
Was droopin' on his shoulder, an'
I seen him holdin' Katie's hand,
An' then he hugged her closer, some,
An' then I heerd a kiss--yum, yum;
An' Katie blushed an' drew a sigh,
An' sorter coughed,--an' so did I.
An' then that feller looked around
An' seed me there, down on the ground,
An'--was he mad? well, betcher boots
I gets right out of there an' scoots.
An' he just left my sister Kate
A-standin' right there by the gate;
An' I seen blood was in his eye,
An' he runned fast--an' so did I.
I runned the very best I could,
But he cotched up--I's 'fraid he would--
An' then he said he'd teach me how
To know my manners, he'd allow;
An' then he shaked me awful. Gee!
He jest--he frashed the ground with me.
An' then he stopped it by and by,
'Cause he was tired--an' so was I,
An' then he went back to the gate
An' couldn't find my sister Kate
'Cause she went in to bed, while he
Was runnin' 'round an' thumpin' me.
I got round in a shadder dim,
An' made a face, an' guffed at him;
An' then the moon larfed, in the sky,
'Cause he was there, an' so was I.
_Joseph Bert Smiley._
Is It Worth While?
Is it worth while that we jostle a brother.
Bearing his load on the rough road of life?
Is it worth while that we jeer at each other
In blackness of heart that we war to the knife?
God pity us all in our pitiful strife.
God pity as all as we jostle each other;
God pardon us all for the triumph we feel
When a fellow goes down 'neath his load on the heather,
Pierced to the heart: Words are keener than steel,
And mightier far for woe than for weal,
Were it not well, in this brief little journey
On over the isthmus, down into the tide,
We give him a fish instead of a serpent,
Ere folding the hands to be and abide
Forever and aye in dust at his side?
Look at the roses saluting each other;
Look at the herds all at peace on the plain;
Man, and man only, makes war on his brother,
And laughs in his heart at his peril and pain,
Shamed by the beasts that go down on the plain.
Is it worth while that we battle to humble
Some poor fellow down into the dust?
God pity us all! Time too soon will tumble
All of us together, like leaves in a gust,
Humbled, indeed, down into the dust.
_Joaquin Miller._