WHY?
Why, when the sun is gold,
The weather fine,
The air (this phrase is old)
Like Gascon wine;—
Why, when the leaves are red,
And yellow, too,
And when (as has been said)
The skies are blue;—
Why, when all things promote
One’s peace and joy,—
A joy that is (to quote)
Without alloy;—
Why, when a man’s well off,
Happy and gay,
Why must he go play golf
And spoil his day!
THE RIME OF THE CLARK STREET CABLE
(Now happily extinct.)
Twas in a vault beneath the street,
In the trench of the traction rope,
That I found a guy with a fishy eye
And a think tank filled with dope.