THE OYSTER

Two halves of an oyster shell, each a shallow cup;

Here once lived an oyster before they ate him up.

Oyster shells are smooth inside; outside very rough;

Very little room to spare, but he had enough.

Bedroom, parlor, kitchen, or cellar there was none;

Just one room in all the house — oysters need but one.

And he was never troubled by wind or rain or snow,

For he had a roof above, another one below.

I wonder if they fried him, or cooked him in a stew,

And sold him at a fair, and passed him off for two.

I wonder if the oysters all have names like us,

And did he have a name like “John” or “Romulus”?

I wonder if his parents wept to see him go;

I wonder who can tell; perhaps the mermaids know.

I wonder if our sleep the most of us would dread,

If we slept like oysters, a million in a bed!