We have no aspiration vain For paradise Utopian, And here in our sun—happy Spain, Though man exploit his fellow man, To high constraint we humbly yield…
When I am old and worse for wear I want to buy a rocking—chair, And set it on a porch where shine The stars of morning—glory vine; With just beyond, a gleam of grass…
What was the blackest sight to me Of all that campaign? A naked woman tied to a tree With jagged holes where her breast… Rotting there in the rain.
Folk ask if I’m alive, Most think I’m not; Yet gaily I contrive To till my plot. The world its way can go,
Of all the boys with whom I fough… In Africa and Sicily, Bill was the bravest of the lot In our dare—devil Company. That lad would rather die than yie…
My boy’s come back; he’s here at l… He came home on a special train. My longing and my ache are past, My only son is back again. He’s home with music, flags and fl…
To hell with Government I say; I’m sick of all the piddling pack. I’d like to scram, get clean away, And never, nevermore come back. With heart of hope I long to go
It’s slim and trim and bound in bl… Its leaves are crisp and edged wit… Its words are simple, stalwart too… Its thoughts are tender, wise and… Its pages scintillate with wit;
Poets may praise a wattle thatch Doubtfully waterproof; Let me uplift my lowly latch Beneath a rose—tiled roof. Let it be gay and rich in hue,
Of all the men I ever knew The tinkingest was Uncle Jim; If there were any chores to do We couldn’t figure much on him. He’d have a thinking job on hand,
The meal was o’er, the lamp was li… The family sat in its glow; The Mother never ceased to knit, The Daughter never slacked to sew… The Father read his evening news,
Day after day behold me plying My pen within an office drear; The dullest dog, till homeward hie… Then lo! I reign a king of cheer. A throne have I of padded leather…
We talked of yesteryears, of trail… Of men who played the game and los… Of mad stampedes, of toil beyond a… Of camp-fire comfort when the day… We talked of sullen nights by moon…
I dreamed I saw three demi—gods w… And one was small and crapulous, a… And one was eaten up with vice and… The first he spoke of secret sins,… And velvet cats and courtesans vol…
Another day of toil and strife, Another page so white, Within that fateful Log of Life That I and all must write; Another page without a stain