Works

Nobody on the old farm here but Mother, me and John,
Except, of course, the extry he'p when harvest-time come on -
And then, I want to say to you, we needed he'p about,...

In the heart of June, love,
You and I together,
On from dawn till noon, love,
Laughing with the weather;
Blending both our souls, love,
In the selfsame tune,
Drinking all life holds, love,...

Iry an' Billy an' Jo! -
Iry an' Billy's the boys,
An' Jo's their dog, you know, -
Their pictures took all in a row.
Bet they kin kick up a noise -
Iry and Billy, the boys,...

(Grandfather, musing.)


In childish days! O memory,
You bring such curious things to me! -
Laughs to the lip - tears to the eye,
In looking on the gifts that lie...

Bad Boy's Version.

Tell you a story - an' it's a fac': -
Wunst wuz a little boy, name wuz Jack,
An' he had sword an' buckle an' strap
Maked of gold, an' a "'visibul cap;"...

His daily, nightly task is o'er -
He leans above his desk no more.

His pencil and his pen say not
One further word of gracious thought.

All silent is his voice, yet clear...

Jap Miller down at Martinsville's the blamedest feller yit!
When he starts in a-talkin' other folks is apt to quit! -
'Pears like that mouth o' his'n wuz n't made fer nuthin' else...

He was jes a plain ever'-day, all-round kind of a jour.,
Consumpted-Iookin' - but la!
The jokeiest, wittiest, story-tellin', song-singin', laughin'est, jolliest
Feller you ever saw!...

"Write me a rhyme of the present time".
And the poet took his pen
And wrote such lines as the miser minds
Hide in the hearts of men.

He grew enthused, as the poets used...

We got up a Christmas-doin's
Last Christmas Eve -
Kindo' dimonstration
'At I railly believe
Give more satisfaction -
Take it up and down -
Than ary intertainment
Ever come to town!
...

Writ in between the lines of his life-deed
We trace the sacred service of a heart
Answering the Divine command, in every part
Bearing on human weal: His love did feed...

John McKeen, in his rusty dress,
His loosened collar, and swarthy throat;
His face unshaven, and none the less,
His hearty laugh and his wholesomeness,
And the wealth of a workman's vote!
...

John McKeen, in his rusty dress,
His loosened collar, and swarthy throat,
His face unshaven, and none the less,
His hearty laugh and his wholesomeness,
And the wealth of a workman's vote!
...

The world is turned ag'in' me,
And people says, "They guess
That nothin' else is in me
But pure maliciousness!"
I git the blame for doin'
What other chaps destroy,
And I'm a-goin' to ruin...

A strange life - strangely passed!
We may not read the soul
When God has folded up the scroll
In death at last.
We may not - dare not say of one
Whose task of life as well was done...

Had a hare-lip - Joney had:
Spiled his looks, and Joney knowed it:
Fellers tried to bore him, bad -
But ef ever he got mad,
He kep' still and never showed it.
'Druther have his mouth all pouted...

O her eyes are amber-fine -
Dark and deep as wells of wine,
While her smile is like the noon
Splendor of a day of June.
If she sorrow - lo! her face
It is like a flowery space...

O queenly month of indolent repose!
I drink thy breath in sips of rare perfume,
As in thy downy lap of clover-bloom
I nestle like a drowsy child and doze
The lazy hours away. The zephyr throws...

Out at Woodruff Place - afar
From the city's glare and jar,
With the leafy trees, instead
Of the awnings, overhead;
With the shadows cool and sweet,
For the fever of the street;...

Just to be good -
This is enough - enough!
O we who find sin's billows wild and rough,
Do we not feel how more than any gold
Would be the blameless life we led of old...