Father

My father knows the proper way

     The nation should be run;

He tells us children every day

     Just what should now be done.

He knows the way to fix the trusts,

     He has a simple plan;

But if the furnace needs repairs,

     We have to hire a man.

My father, in a day or two

    Could land big thieves in jail;

There's nothing that he cannot do,

    He knows no word like "fail."

"Our confidence" he would restore,

    Of that there is no doubt;

But if there is a chair to mend,

    We have to send it out.

All public questions that arise,

    He settles on the spot;

He waits not till the tumult dies,

    But grabs it while it's hot.

In matters of finance he can

    Tell Congress what to do;

But, O, he finds it hard to meet

    His bills as they fall due.

It almost makes him sick to read

    The things law-makers say;

Why, father's just the man they need,

    He never goes astray.

All wars he'd very quickly end,

    As fast as I can write it;

But when a neighbor starts a fuss,

    'Tis mother has to fight it.

In conversation father can

    Do many wondrous things;

He's built upon a wiser plan

    Than presidents or kings.

He knows the ins and outs of each

    And every deep transaction;

We look to him for theories,

    But look to ma for action.