When Day is Done | Page 8

speech?Had we no little ones to teach.?No children in the house to play!?Oh, we could never live that way!
The Loss Is Not So Great
It is better as it is: I have failed but I can sleep;?Though the pit I now am in is very dark and deep?I can walk to-morrow's streets and can meet to-morrow's men Unashamed to face their gaze as I go to work again.
I have lost the hope I had; in the dust are all my dreams,?But my loss is not so great or so dreadful as it seems;?I made my fight and though I failed I need not slink away?For I do not have to fear what another man may say.
They may call me over-bold, they may say that I was frail;?They may tell I dared too much and was doomed at last to fail; They may talk my battle o'er and discuss it as they choose, But I did no brother wrong--I'm the only one to lose.
It is better as it is: I have kept my self-respect.?I can walk to-morrow's streets meeting all men head erect.?No man can charge his loss to a pledge I did not keep;?I have no shame to regret: I have failed, but I can sleep.
Dan McGann Declares Himself
Said Dan McGann to a foreign man who worked at the selfsame bench, "Let me tell you this," and for emphasis he flourished a Stilson wrench; "Don't talk to me of the bourjoissee, don't open your mouth to speak Of your socialists or your anarchists, don't mention the bolsheveek, For I've had enough of this foreign stuff, I'm sick as a man can be Of the speech of hate, and I'm tellin' you straight that this is the land
for me!
"If you want to brag, just take that flag an' boast of its field o' blue, An' praise the dead an' the blood they shed for the peace o' the likes
o' you.?Enough you've raved," and once more he waved his wrench in a forceful way, "O' the cunning creed o' some Russian breed; I stand for the U.S.A.! I'm done with your fads, and your wild-eyed lads. Don't flourish your rag
o' red?Where I can see or by night there'll be tall candles around your bed.
"So tip your hat to a flag like that! Thank God for its stripes an' stars! Thank God you're here where the roads are clear, away from your kings and
czars.?I can't just say what I feel to-day, for I'm not a talkin' man, But, first an' last, I am standin' fast for all that's American. So don't you speak of the bolsheveek, it's sick of that stuff I am! One God, one flag is the creed I brag! I'm boostin' for Uncle Sam."
A Boy and His Stomach
What's the matter with you--ain't I always been your friend? Ain't I been a pardner to you? All my pennies don't I spend In gettin' nice things for you? Don't I give you lots of cake? Say, stummick, what's the matter, that you had to go an' ache?
Why, I loaded you with good things yesterday, I gave you more Potatoes, squash an' turkey than you'd ever had before.?I gave you nuts an' candy, pumpkin pie an' chocolate cake,?An' las' night when I got to bed you had to go an' ache.
Say, what's the matter with you--ain't you satisfied at all? I gave you all you wanted, you was hard jes' like a ball,?An' you couldn't hold another bit of puddin', yet las' night You ached mos' awful, stummick; that ain't treatin' me jes' right.
I've been a friend to you, I have, why ain't you a friend o' mine? They gave me castor oil last night because you made me whine. I'm awful sick this mornin' an' I'm feelin' mighty blue,?'Cause you don't appreciate the things I do for you.
Home and the Office
Home is the place where the laughter should ring,?And man should be found at his best.?Let the cares of the day be as great as they may,?The night has been fashioned for rest.?So leave at the door when the toiling is o'er?All the burdens of worktime behind,?And just be a dad to your girl or your lad--?A dad of the rollicking kind.
The office is made for the tasks you must face;?It is built for the work you must do;?You may sit there and sigh as your cares pile up high,?And no one may criticize you;?You may worry and fret as you think of your debt,?You may grumble when plans go astray,?But when it comes night, and you shut your desk tight,?Don't carry the burdens away.
Keep daytime for toil and the nighttime for play,?Work as hard as you choose in the town,?But when the day ends, and the darkness descends,?Just forget that you're wearing a frown--?Go home with a smile! Oh, you'll find it