JOB WORK

“Write me a rhyme of the present time”.

And the poet took his pen

And wrote such lines as the miser minds

Hide in the hearts of men.

He grew enthused, as the poets used

When their fingers kissed the strings

Of some sweet lyre, and caught the fire

True inspiration brings,

And sang the song of a nation's wrong —

Of the patriot's galling chain,

And the glad release that the angel, Peace,

Has given him again.

He sang the lay of religion's sway,

Where a hundred creeds clasp hands

And shout in glee such a symphony

That the whole world understands.

He struck the key of monopoly,

And sang of her swift decay,

And traveled the track of the railway back

With a blithesome roundelay —

Of the tranquil bliss of a true love kiss;

And painted the picture, too,

Of the wedded life, and the patient wife,

And the husband fond and true;

And sang the joy that a noble boy

Brings to a father's soul,

Who lets the wine as a mocker shine

Stagnated in the bowl.

And he stabbed his pen in the ink again,

And wrote with a writhing frown,

“This is the end.” “And now, my friend,

You may print it — upside down!”