SPREAD OUT.

In politics I'm a — never mind,

And you are a — I do n't care,

But, anyway, I am rather inclined

To suspect we are both unfair;

For I have called you a coward and slave

And you have dubbed me a fool and knave.

( Yet, perhaps I was right, for you surely abused

The right of free speech in the names you used! )

In business you figure — a profit, I guess,

And I charge you — as much as I dare,

And I grumble that you ought to do it for less,

And you ask if my price is fair.

But if I sold your goods and you sold mine,

I doubt if the prices would much decline.

( Though I must insist that I think I see

Where you'd still have a little advantage of me! )

In religion you are a — who cares what?

And I am a — what's the odds?

So why have I sneered at your holiest thought,

And why have you jeered at my gods?

For, thinking it over, I'm sure we two

Were doing the best that we honestly knew.

( Though, of course, I cannot escape a touch

Of suspicion that you never knew too much! )