Now, maybe we can fool my Dad
That it's half-past five when it's half-past four,
And maybe the system's the best we have had
To fool some thousands of people or more;
But, how can we fool that rooster?
I have always thought our rooster had
A clock inside of his head,
And I don't know how we can fix it so
We can set the clock ahead.
I asked my Dad, and he said to me,
"Why, son, you surely know
A rooster's instinct wakens him
And tells him when to crow."
Now the hands of the clock we can turn ahead,
We can fool the people and feel content;
But the thing that worries me night and day,
And on which my entire thought is bent
Is, how can we fool that rooster?
A Wreath Of Flowers
Written for Decoration Day, May 30, 1918.