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Wreath of Immortelles (excerpts)
JUDGE Sawyer, whom in vain the people tried To push from power, here is laid aside. Death only from the bench could ever start The sluggish load of his immortal part.
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For those this mausoleum is erected Who Stanford to the Upper House elected. Their luck is less or their promotion slower, For, dead, they were elected to the Lower.
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Rash mortal! stay thy feet and look around-- This vacant tomb as yet is holy ground; But soon, alas! Jim Fair will occupy These premises--then, holiness, good-bye!
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George Perry here lies stiff and stark, With stone at foot and stone at head. His heart was dark, his mind was dark-- "Ignorant ass!" the people said.
Not ignorant but skilled, alas, In all the secrets of his trade: He knew more ways to be an ass Than any ass that ever brayed.
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*** AAKHRI CHAND DIN DECEMBER K ***
Aakhri Chand Din December k Har Baras Hi Garaan Guzartay Hain Khuwahishoon k Nigar Khanay Se Kaisy Kaisy Gumaan Guzartay Hain Raftigaan k Bikhray Sayoo Ki Ik Mehfil Si Dil Mein Sajti Hay Phone Ki Diary k Safhoon Se Kitny Number Pukarty Hain Mujhy Jin Se Marboot BeNawa Ghantii Ab Faqat Mere Dil Mein Bajti Hay Kis Qadar Pyary Pyary Namoon Par Reengti BadNuma Lakeerein Si Meri Aankhon Mein Phail Jati Hain Naam Jo Kat Gaye Hain Un k Harf Aisy Kaghaz Par Phail Jatay Hain Hadsay k Muqam Par Jaisy Khoon k Sookhay Nishanoon Par Chaak Se Liney Lagaty Hain Phir December k Aakhri Din Hain Har Baras Ki Tarah Ab k b Diary Ik Sawal Karti Hay Kya Khabar Iss Baras k Akhir Tak Mere In Be Charagh Safhoon Se Kitnay Number Bikhar Kar Rastoon Mein Gard Mazi Se Att Gaye Hon Ge Khaak k Dhairoon k Daman Mein Kitnay Toofan Simat Gaye Hon Ge Har December Mein Sochta Hoon Rung Ko Roshnee Mein Khona Hay Ik Din Iss Tarah b Hona Hay Apnay Apnay Gharoon Mein Rakhi Hoyi Diary Dost Dekhty Hon Ge Un Ki Aankhoon k KhaakDanoo Mein Ek Sehra Sa Phailta Hoga Aur Kuch Be Nishan Safhoon Se Naam Mera b Katt Gaya Ho Ga...!!!
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The Legatee
IN fair San Francisco a good man did dwell, And he wrote out a will, for he didn't feel well. Said he: "It is proper, when making a gift, To stimulate virtue by comforting thrift."
So he left all his property, legal and straight, To "the cursedest rascal in all of the State." But the name he refused to insert, for, said he: "Let each man consider himself legatee."
In due course of time that philanthropist died, And all San Francisco, and Oakland beside-- Save only the lawyers--came each with his claim, The lawyers preferring to manage the same.
The cases were tried in Department Thirteen, Judge Murphy presided, sedate and serene, But couldn't quite specify, legal and straight, The cursedest rascal in all of the State.
And so he remarked to them, little and big-- To claimants: "You skip!" and to lawyers: "You dig!" They tumbled, tumultuous, out of his court And left him victorious, holding the fort.
'Twas then that he said: "It is plain to my mind This property's ownerless--how can I find The cursedest rascal in all of the State?" So he took it himself, which was legal and straight.
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Matter for Gratitude
"ESPECIALLY should we be thankful for having escaped the ravages of the yellow scourge by which our neighbors have been so sorely afflicted."
--Governor Stoneman's Thanksgiving Proclamation
Be pleased, O Lord, to take a people's thanks That Thine avenging sword has spared our ranks-- That Thou hast parted from our lips the cup And forced our neighbors' lips to drink it up. Father of Mercies, with a heart contrite We thank Thee that Thou goest south to smite, And sparest San Francisco's loins, to crack Thy lash on Hermosillo's bleeding back-- That o'er our homes Thine awful angel spread His wings in vain, and Guaymas weeps instead.
We praise Thee, God, that Yellow Fever here His horrid banner has not dared to rear, Consumption's jurisdiction to contest, Her dagger deep in every second breast! Catarrh and Asthma and Congestive Chill Attest Thy bounty and perform Thy will. These native messengers obey Thy call-- They summon singly, but they summon all. Not, as in Mexico's impested clime, Can Yellow Jack commit recurring crime. We thank Thee that Thou killest all the time.
Thy tender mercies, Father, never end: Upon all heads Thy blessings still descend, Though their forms vary. Here the sown seeds yield Abundant grain that whitens all the field-- There the smit corn stands barren on the plain, Thrift reaps the straw and Famine gleans in vain. Here the fat priest to the contented king Points out the contrast and the people sing-- There mothers eat their offspring. Well, at least Thou hast provided offspring for the feast. An earthquake here rolls harmless through the land, And Thou art good because the chimneys stand-- There templed cities sink into the sea, And damp survivors, howling as they flee, Skip to the hills and hold a celebration In honor of Thy wise discrimination.
O God, forgive them all, from Stoneman down, Thy smile who construe and expound Thy frown, And fall with saintly grace upon their knees To render thanks when Thou dost only sneeze
Age: 124
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The Key Note
I DREAMED I was dreaming one morn as I lay In a garden with flowers teeming. On an island I lay in a mystical bay, In the dream I dreamed I was dreaming.
The ghost of a scent--had it followed me there From the place where I truly was resting? It filled like an anthem the aisles of the air, The presence of roses attesting.
Yet I thought in the dream that I dreamed I dreamed That the place was all barren of roses-- That it only seemed; and the place, I deemed, Was the Isle of Bewildered Noses.
Full many a seaman had testified How all who sailed near were enchanted, And landed to search (and in searching died) For the roses the Sirens had planted.
For the Sirens were dead, and the billows boomed In the stead of their singing forever; But the roses bloomed on the graves of the doomed, Though man had discovered them never.
I though in my dream 'twas an idle tale, A delusion that mariners cherished-- That the fragrance loading the conscious gale Was a ghost of a rose long perished.
I said, "I will fly from this island of woes." And acting on that decision, By that odor of rose I was led by the nose, For 'twas truly, ah! truly, Elysian.
I ran, in my madness, to seek out the source Of the redolent river--directed By some supernatural, sinister force To a forest, dark, haunted, infected.
And still as I threaded ('twas all in the dream That I dreamed I was dreaming) each turning There were many a scream and a sudden gleam Of eyes all uncannily burning!
The leaves were all wet with a horrible dew That mirrored the red moon's crescent, And all shapes were fringed with a ghostly blue, Dim, wavering, phosphorescent.
But the fragrance divine, coming strong and free, Led me on, though my blood was clotting, Till--ah, joy!--I could see, on the limbs of a tree, Mine enemies hanging and rotting!
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Elegy
THE cur foretells the knell of parting day; The loafing herd wind slowly o'er the lea; The wise man homeward plods; I only stay To fiddle-faddle in a minor key.
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Egotist
MEGACEPH, chosen to serve the State In the halls of legislative debate, One day with his credentials came To the capitol's door and announced his name. The doorkeeper looked, with a comical twist Of the face, at the eminent egotist, And said: "Go away, for we settle here All manner of questions, knotty and queer, And we cannot have, when the speaker demands To know how every member stands, A man who to all things under the sky Assents by eternally voting 'I.'"
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The Knight's Song
I'LL tell thee everything I can: There's little to relate. I saw an aged aged man, A-sitting on a gate.
'Who are you, aged man?' I said. 'And how is it you live?' And his answer trickled through my head, Like water through a sieve. He said, 'I look for butterflies That sleep among the wheat: I make them into mutton-pies, And sell them in the street.
I sell them unto men,' he said, 'Who sail on stormy seas; And that's the way I get my bread -- A trifle, if you please.' But I was thinking of a plan To dye one's whiskers green, And always use so large a fan That they could not be seen.
So having no reply to give To what the old man said, I cried 'Come, tell me how you live!' nd thumped him on the head. is accents mild took up the tale:
He said 'I go my ways, And when I find a mountain-rill, I set it in a blaze; And thence they make a stuff they call Rowland's Macassar-Oil -- Yet twopence-halfpenny is all They give me for my toil.'
But I was thinking of a way To feed oneself on batter, And so go on from day to day ' Getting a little fatter. I shook him well from side to side, Until his face was blue: 'Come, tell me how you live,' I cried, 'And what it is you do!'
He said, 'I hunt for haddocks' eyes Among the heather bright, And work them into waistcoat-buttons In the silent night. And these I do not sell for gold Or coin of silvery shine, But for a copper halfpenny, And that will purchase nine.
'I sometimes dig for buttered rolls, Or set limed twigs for crabs: I sometimes search the grassy knolls For wheels of Hansom-cabs. And that's the way' (he gave a wink) 'By which I get my wealth -- And very gladly will I drink Your Honour's noble health.'
I heard him then, for I had just Completed my design To keep the Menai bridge from rust By boiling it in wine. I thanked him much for telling me The way he got his wealth, But chiefly for his wish that he Might drink my noble health.
And now, if e'er by chance I put My fingers into glue, Or madly squeeze a right-hand foot Into a left-hand shoe, Or if I drop upon my toe A very heavy weight, I weep, for it reminds me so Of that old man I used to know -- Whose look was mild, whose speech was slow Whose hair was whiter than the snow, Whose face was very like a crow, With eyes, like cinders, all aglow, Who seemed distracted with his woe, Who rocked his body to and fro, And muttered mumblingly and low, As if his mouth were full of dough, Who snorted like a buffalo- That summer evening long ago, A-sitting on a gate.
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The Walrus and the Carpenter
THE sun was shining on the sea, Shining with all his might: He did his very best to make The billows smooth and bright -- And this was odd, because it was The middle of the night.
The moon was shining sulkily, Because she thought the sun Had got no business to be there After the day was done -- 'It's very rude of him.' she said, 'To come and spoil the fun!'
The sea was wet as wet could be, The sands were dry as dry. You could not see a cloud, because No cloud was in the sky: No birds were flying overhead -- There were no birds to fly.
The Walrus and the Carpenter Were walking close at hand: They wept like anything to see Such quantities of sand: 'If this were only cleared away,' They said, 'it would be grand.'
'If seven maids with seven mops Swept it for half a year, Do you suppose,' the Walrus said, 'That they could get it clear?' 'l doubt it,' said the Carpenter, And shed a bitter tear.
'O Oysters, come and walk with us! The Walrus did beseech. 'A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk, Along the briny beach: We cannot do with more than four, To give a hand to each.'
The eldest Oyster looked at him, But never a word he said: The eldest Oyster winked his eye, And shook his heavy head -- Meaning to say he did not choose To leave the oyster-bed.
Out four young Oysters hurried up. All eager for the treat: Their coats were brushed, their faces washed, Their shoes were clean and neat -- And this was odd, because, you know, They hadn't any feet.
Four other Oysters followed them, And yet another four; And thick and fast they came at last, And more, and more, and more -- All hopping through the frothy waves, And scrambling to the shore.
The Walrus and the Carpenter Walked on a mile or so, And then they rested on a rock Conveniently low: And all the little Oysters stood And waited in a row.
'The time has come,' the Walrus said, 'To talk of many things: Of shoes -- and ships -- and sealing wax -- Of cabbages -- and kings -- And why the sea is boiling hot -- And whether pigs have wings.'
'But wait a bit,' the Oysters cried, 'Before we have our chat; For some of us are out of breath, And all of us are fat!' 'No hurry!' said the Carpenter. They thanked him much for that.
'A loaf of bread,' the Walrus said, 'Is what we chiefly need: Pepper and vinegar besides Are very good indeed -- Now, if you're ready, Oysters dear, We can begin to feed.'
'But not on us!' the Oysters cried, Turning a little blue. 'After such kindness, that would be A dismal thing to do!' 'The night is fine,' the Walrus said, 'Do you admire the view?'
'It was so kind of you to come! And you are very nice!' The Carpenter said nothing but 'Cut us another slice- I wish you were not quite so deaf- I've had to ask you twice!'
'It seems a shame,' the Walrus said, 'To play them such a trick. After we've brought them out so far, And made them trot so quick!' The Carpenter said nothing but 'The butter's spread too thick!'
'I weep for you,'the Walrus said: 'I deeply sympathize.' With sobs and tears he sorted out Those of the largest size, Holding his pocket-handkerchief Before his streaming eyes.
'O Oysters,' said the Carpenter, 'You've had a pleasant run! Shall we be trotting home again?' But answer came there none -- And this was scarcely odd, because They'd eaten every one.
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Prologue to Looking Glass
CHILD of the pure unclouded brow And dreaming eyes of wonder! Though time be fleet, and I and thou Are half a life asunder, Thy loving smile will surely hail The love-gift of a fairy-tale.
I have not seen thy sunny face, Nor heard thy silver laughter; No thought of me shall find a place In thy young life's hereafter -- Enough that now thou wilt not fail To listen to my fairy-tale.
A tale begun in other days, When summer suns were glowing -- A simple chime, that served to time The rhythm of our rowing -- Whose echoes live in memory yet, Though envious years would say 'forget'
Come, hearken then, ere voice of dread, With bitter tidings laden, Shall summon to unwelcome bed A melancholy maiden! We are but older children, dear, Who fret to find our bedtime near.
Without, the frost, the blinding snow, The storm-wind's moody madness -- Within, the firelight's ruddy glow And childhood's nest of gladness. The magic words shall hold thee fast: Thou shalt not heed the raving blast.
And though the shadow of a sigh May tremble through the story, For 'happy summer days' gone by, And vanish'd summer glory -- It shall not touch with breath of bale The pleasance of our fairy-tale.