There must be wash bowls here and there
To save much climbing of the stair;
A sleeping porch we both demand—
This fad has swept throughout the land—
And, Oh, 'twill give her heart a wrench
Not to possess a few doors, French.
I want to dig and walk around
At least full fifty feet of ground;
She wants the latest style in tubs;
I want more room for trees and shrubs,
And a garage, with light and heat,
That can be entered from the street.
The trouble is the things we seek
Cannot be bought for ten-a-week.
And all the joys for which we sigh
Are just too rich for us to buy.
We have the taste to cut a dash:
The thing we're lacking most is cash.
{158}
AN EASY WORLD
It's an easy world to live in if you choose to
make it so;
You never need to suffer, save the griefs that
all must know;
If you'll stay upon the level and will do the
best you can
You will never lack the friendship of a kindly
fellow man.
Life's an easy road to travel if you'll only walk
it straight;
When the clouds begin to gather and your hopes
begin to fade,
If you've only toiled in honor you won't have
to call for aid.
But if you've bartered friendship and the faith
on which it rests
For a temporary winning; if you've cheated in
the tests,
If with promises you've broken, you have chilled
the hearts of men;
It is vain to look for friendship for it will not
come again.
Oh, the world is full of kindness, thronged with
men who want to be
Of some service to their neighbors and they'll
run to you or me
When we're needing their assistance if we've
lived upon the square,
But they'll spurn us in our trouble if we've
always been unfair.
It's an easy world to live in; all you really need
to do
Is the decent thing and proper and then friends
will flock to you;
But let dishonor trail you and some stormy day
you'll find
To your heart's supremest sorrow that you've
made the world unkind.