THE ROILING OF HENRY
(A Song of the Grating Outdoors)
Bird, thou art not a Veery,
Nor yet a Yellowthroat,
Ne'erless, I knew thy gentle song,
Long, long e'er I could vote;
Thou art not a Blue Flower,
Nor e'en a real Blue Bird;
Yet there's a moral high and pure
In all thy likings heard:
"Grack-grack-grack-grack-grack-grack—
Go on and ne'er look back!"
The noble tow'rs of Princeton
Hear high thy pensive trill,
And eke my ear has heard thee
The while I fished the rill;
Thy note rings out at daybreak
Before I rise to toil;
Thou counselest Persistence;
Thy song no stone can spoil;
"Grack-grack-grack-grack-grack-grack—
Go on and ne'er look back!"
To all I've undergone;
From five o'clock till five o'clock
Thou'st chanted o'er my lawn;
I cannot get my work done ...
I give thee, Bird, advice;
If thou wouldst save thy skin alive,
Let me not warn thee twice,
"Grack-grack-grack-grack-grack-grack—
Go on and ne'er look back!"
Cale Young Rice
(Who came out rather tired from trying to choose a new suit, and could not get it off his mind.)