Dedication
To my three beloved children,
Mildred Irene, Russell Franklin, Laura LaVern,
and to the memory of my departed son,
Preface
THE poems contained in this volume have been written under various, and in many instances difficult conditions. I ask my friends, who have been inquiring for years as to when my next book was going to appear, to remember that for the last twenty-four years I have been a busy Pastor, and could give only a very limited amount of time to literary work. Remember, also, that I and my wife have been bringing up a family of three children. Often have I settled down in my study to write a poem, only to be interrupted by a gentle knock at my door, followed by a child's question, "Papa are you busy?" Or, sometimes it would be my wife's voice, calling from the foot of the stairway, informing me that she must have certain articles from the store. Or, perhaps, it was one of my members who called to inform me that Mr.
B had died. Then I must drop everything and prepare a
funeral sermon. Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, vv^ho was a physician as well as a poet, said, "A man who writes poetry should not write prescriptions." Perhaps I might also say that, a man who writes poetry should not write sermons. However, I believe I can truly say that my sermons have not suffered on account of my poems. On the contrary, I believe they have added spice to them. I have appreciated the many letters which I have received from readers of my former works, telling me of the enjoyment which they derived from reading them.
It is with the hope that all will derive even more enjoyment from this work, that the author now presents "Poems For All Classes" to the public.
Mineral vCity, Ohio, July 4, 1921.
I
Sentiment and Thought.
PAGE
The fate of the poet 1
Enjoyin the fruits of one's labors 3
The slaughter of the innocents 4
Which was the rich man 5
Midnight in June 7
Do what you can 8
Wandering in the wilderness 9
Thots from an old poem 10
A wet June 11
Think I'll vote fer Mister Booster 12
The little white church 13
My birthplace 15
A beam of sunshine in February 16
A scene most sweet 17
We'll store the old high chair away 18
Bring out the old high chair 20
The scold 20
Matrimony, a parable 22
Oh they are all good fellows 24
The home of my Grand-parents 25
Will the world have been made better because I lived in it 27
To the boys of the Class of '97 28
My fiftieth birthday 29
An "If" for boys 32
II Farm Life
Pat and the melon 34
Fourth of July in the country 36
The old Hick'ry Swing 37
The mosquito band 41
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PAGE
The wheat 42
In the hayfield 43
The farmer's companions 45
A ten year old boy's song in June 48
The old way and the new 49
The sly gray squirrel 51
An old teacher and student meet after thirty years 53
III War Poems
dove of peace, where hast thou flown 57
A parting blessing to our soldier boys 59
Christmas Day, 1917 61
The Kaiser's sentence 63
A young soldier's wife's song to her babe 65
Yankee Doodle, with modern improvements 67
The trial and execution of Edith Cavell 68
The soldier's mother 70
How Tom Brown views the v;ar 71
We'll pay our debt to Lafayette 73
The Kaiser's doom 75
Little Nan's complaint 76
Prayer for our sick soldiers 76
How can we pray for the Kaiser? 77
How about Dad? 77
The thrilling message 79
IV Song of the snowflakes 81
A street scene in winter 82
The Allegheny Mountains 84
When the blue-birds northward fly 85
To the March wind 86
A free moving picture show 87
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PAGE
Evening 88
The lovely sunrise 89
Flowers of Spring 91
The black-birds 92
When the flowers show their faces 93
V
Why he came to the Parson 95
House cleaning 96
The fooler fooled 98
My neighbors plight 99
A dutchman's eulogy of Washington 101
The Englishman's dilemma 103
Three Dutchmen who could each speak one sentence in
English 104
Sam Steele's Durham Bull 105
There'd be no use fer lawyers if all folks lived like us. . . .106
The two congressmen 108
Barbary Frigerator 110
Backwoods Jim's lecture to the High School students. . . .112
VI Poems For Children
The goblins round my bed 115
The polywog 116
The prettiest girl I ever saw 117
The boys' thanksgiving day 118
Farmer Ringer's gander 119
Two girls I know 120
Pond lilies 121
My black playmate 122
What I saw on the big road 123
My Ma's griddle cakes 124
In boyhood days 125
Caw, cav/ ! yaw, yaw ! 126
Little things 126
Ix
PAGE
When me an Lucy runned away 127
Too bad 129
If it wei-en't f er washin the dishes 129
How my sin found me out 130
The yaller jacket's nest 132
The hornet's nest 133
How I ketched a bumblebee 134
The bull frog 135
A great day is coming 136
When I disobeyed my pa 137
The Sai'ves-Berry tree 139
What the tools said 140
When I first saw my sister in a white dress 141
The moonlight shadows round my bed 143
The wonderful things I saw 144
What the wind can do 145
VII In Memoriam
Theodore Roosevelt 146
Rev. W. J. Miller, D.D 147
Clara Barton 148
Margaret E. Sangster 149
Will Carleton 150
John Greenleaf Whittier 152
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 153
Oliver Wendell Holmes 155
Abraham Lincoln 157
VIII Poems To James Whitcome Riley
To James Whitcomb Riley 159
When the frost is on the winder 160
Apple Picking 162
In memory of James Whitcomb Riley 164
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