♦ O > 
 
 '*. 
 
 
 
 .A^^ 
 
 0^ ;V:" '" ':^o< o<^^_ 
 
 ^ .0- 
 
 ^o^ >i^-- 
 
 
 
 
 nf>^ * X ° .''J' 
 
 
 •\°' 
 
 •^-t. 
 
 % 
 
 
 
 
 L- ,><; >--' * ■ft? ^ik • ^ -♦', .„■ 
 
 .A' 
 
 %^ 
 
 ^^ 0^ ° '^- 
 
 <?5 °^ 
 
 ..<: 
 
 ^ V 
 
 ^^ *'..«* A 
 
 ■\ 
 
 
 
 • " aY 
 
 
 ■J. •• • A ■ J I 
 
 
 <*. 0^ '""''' "^ "^ 
 
 
 ^0 
 
 "-^ 
 
 
 ^,k''^' .•i^'.v 
 
 .-^^ 
 
 ,V 
 
 

 
 '^i 
 
 A' 
 
iiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiuMiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ 
 
 I pjjilosiopfjp I 
 
 = WRITTEN BY THE WAYSIDE I 
 
 ?llililllllllilllililllillllllilllllllllllllliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiillllllllliir 
 
ontelp 
 
 WRITTEN BY THE WAYSIDE 
 
 ARTHUR REED ALEXANDER 
 
 1922 
 
 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 
 
 Copyrighted 
 
 /^ Copyrighted 
 
©CI.A677217 
 
 M / 9/922 
 
 
PREFACE 
 
 Original Bonmots. Epigrammatic Thoughts and What Nots 
 
 As favors before, at and after dinner affairs, 
 
 Both large and small. We make them to order, 
 
 To fit them all. Whatever the occasion may be. 
 
 Perhaps a man of renown is to visit your town, 
 
 Is to sit at your board, and you wish to entertain him 
 
 With apt little thoughts that he never has heard. 
 
 Should he be a statesman, make him relax. 
 
 Spring something new that won't overtax, 
 
 Our bomb Bonmots, made to order, are much in favor. 
 
 Oft save the day and then there's little to pay, 
 
 By the dozen or score, two to one shots cost more. 
 
 TOAST TO MISS SEATTLE 
 
 I would drink to thine eyes with a good home brew. 
 But not the kind you've been accustomed to. 
 The kind that's meant is of different brand. 
 And the heart that's true will understand. 
 Whether in a miss or as man to man. 
 So here's to the miss — and you. 
 
 Of the many country scenes that I have wandered through 
 
 Give me the foothills of the mountains, 
 
 With their ever-changing views. 
 
 Man has greater vision where azure skies are blue. 
 
 WITH GLADIOLI 
 
 Blended perfume from all the flowers. 
 
 Lend themselves to my lady's bower. 
 
 From Thanksgiving and Christmas down through Lent 
 
 Meeting spring and summer with good intent, 
 
 Are always welcome where e'er they're sent. 
 
 Here in Seattle we live by the Sound, 
 
 And the sight is grand the whole year round, 
 
 Our report to the East 
 
 Is but a faint echo of the real sound. 
 
 And the views of mountains both east and west, 
 
 Including Mount Rainier, which is the best. 
 
 Come and settle down upon our shores. 
 
 And you will wonder why you hadn't long before. 
 
Knew Hector when he was a pup, 
 Scarce realizes he's grown up, 
 Except when he dogs my steps. 
 
 Let's strive to be frank. 
 But engagingly so. 
 That all in contact may know 
 That we're deeply interested 
 In human woe. 
 
 THE WAYFARER 
 In 1921 
 
 We are but travelers. 
 
 Who are on our way. 
 
 The road, at times, 
 
 May be straight and narrow, 
 
 Today and on the morrow. 
 
 But with the signs upon the parallel ways 
 
 He who hath God-given sight 
 
 Need not go far astray. 
 
 In 1922 
 The wayfarer again flares forth 
 Broadcasted to nations. 
 
 Food for thought is often lacking in metre. 
 
 If you would continue to deliver the goods 
 You must keep them attractive. 
 
 IN TUNE WITH THE RADIO 
 
 Oft in the dark and stillness of night 
 
 Adjusting our Radio we soon are receiving delight 
 
 From Music afar, 
 
 And feel on good terms with Radio stars. 
 
 UNAPPRECIATED HONORS 
 
 Honors which the world confers 
 Oft become empty things, 
 Unworthy to be borne. 
 If we upon being favored 
 With our bit of parchment, 
 Receive it with folded arms 
 And cold and cynical sneer 
 
And turn our backs upon humanity, 
 Forget them all. Then 
 Why should not they, in turn, 
 Turn our picture to the wall. 
 
 FIRST CATCH THEM 
 
 African explorers claim that gorillas 
 
 Oft attain a weight of three hundred and sixty pounds. 
 
 Such heavy weights, known to be unusually strong, 
 
 Should be put to some useful heavy work, 
 
 Like breaking stone or crushing bone. 
 
 But not the human kind. 
 
 What is man but a pigmy, 
 
 Without that magnetic lifting power 
 
 That takes him out of self 
 
 And lifts him higher? 
 
 Then with holy zeal 
 
 He's filled with new desires. 
 
 To help lift others like himself 
 
 From out the mire. 
 
 Amundsen plans to cap the Pole, 
 
 Outfitted complete to reach the goal, 
 
 Where it's minus much of heat 
 
 But very cold. 
 
 The plenty they'll have to eat 
 
 Will banish cold and supply the heat. 
 
 And Radio will furnish music. 
 
 With Northern Lights for pastime, 
 
 That, sparkling, flashing, bold and dashing 
 
 Aurora Borealis. 
 
 I would that we establish 
 A new school of poetic fancy, 
 Sticking closer to facts 
 Less given to necromancy. 
 
 SPEED GETS THEM 
 
 Yes, it gets many a man on his goat, 
 For it takes its toll and smites you 
 Tooth and nail, neck and jowl. 
 And leaves you cold, and 
 The world looks on another victim. 
 Oft the result of not tooting a horn. 
 
Dr. Brown was always a sleuth hound 
 
 For getting dope when he looked around the town 
 
 Between whiles he sharpened our teeth 
 
 And bridged the gaps, and when we lost our nerve 
 
 He stopped our 5'ap with a little semi-narcotic pap. 
 
 Now that he is in the ma3'0ralty chair 
 
 I now serve him notice 
 
 I'll be there for a hearing. 
 
 Haroun Ben Dey is at outs with his harem, 
 
 He insists that they play 
 
 The harp in the old-fashioned way, 
 
 While they have in mind a different lay 
 
 The up-to-date jazz of today. 
 
 Upon going to press, they were still 
 
 Wrangling and jangling away 
 
 With slight prospects of his having his wa\'. 
 
 A rolling stone gathers no moss, they say, 
 And when too swift has been the pace 
 Remorse oft stares them in the face. 
 
 If we should tell all the favorable 
 
 Things that could be said 
 
 About the month of June, 
 
 There wouldn't be space enough here 
 
 To voice the other kind. 
 
 That of neglect may be one of the lesser evils, 
 Ear wigglers thrive and grow fat on these hot days. 
 If you've neglecated to put out the bait 
 Do not longer hesitate. 
 
 "DIFFERENT ANGLES" 
 
 Many a man claiming to be morally right 
 
 Has no hesitation about attending a dog or cock fight. 
 
 And often telling his wife. 
 
 He won't be home till late at night. 
 
 Little she knows how he was spending his night. 
 
 "JUST FOLLIES" 
 
 There were Follies of 1920, 
 
 The same in 1922, 
 The makeup for the same 
 
 Always remain in you. 
 
Springtime has lighter ones, 
 Then summer solstice brings ; 
 
 There's reactions in the fall,— 
 Some come late in winter 
 
 When the snow begins to fall. 
 
 The follies of the Winter, 
 Spring, Autumn, Fall. 
 
 Ever on your guard. 
 Guard against them all. 
 
 TREATING THEM ROUGH 
 
 The Landlady blithely sang, 
 
 "Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep," 
 In a voice so soft and sweet and low, 
 
 It almost made me weep. 
 
 Later, on a tempestuous sea. 
 She sang a different tune, — 
 
 "Once is more than enough for me ; 
 Please put me on shore again soon!" 
 
 Sounds like the patter of feet 
 Came from the window pane, 
 
 'Twas but the tempo of music 
 In the midsummer night's rain. 
 
 WHISPERINGS 
 
 Take the murmurs of the Sea, 
 
 How they entreat me, 
 
 But their mystery 
 
 I cannot fathom. 
 
 They are too deep for me. 
 
 Who, in their roll and swell. 
 
 Can tell what therein dwells. 
 
 ON DE CABIN FLO' 
 W^ent into a cabin, 
 Down by de sho', 
 
 Doan know who been livin' there bcfo,. 
 But man, they sure been livin' scrumptious! 
 How do I know? 
 Chicken bones on de table 
 And rabbit's foot on de fio'. 
 
AT THE BAZAAR 
 For sweet charity's sake 
 
 We often eat dill pickles and heavy pound cake. 
 Redeeming the day with Angel's food. 
 Quite an expense, when you have a large brood. 
 
 Man often takes the odium, 
 
 The ridicule and laugh. 
 When employed by a paper 
 
 And be a member of their staff. 
 Being ever loyal 
 
 When the enemy throws the gaff. 
 
 When a man's Ego 
 Is greater than his intake, 
 It must from necessity 
 Be combined with vapor. 
 Or hot air — or both. 
 
 June is the month of roses and brides. 
 
 Some of the roses are prim-roses. 
 
 But few of the brides. 
 
 These are the days 
 
 When the fragrance of flowers 
 
 Is at its best, and 
 
 All Nature attests 
 
 Its benevolence. 
 
 While many of the human kind 
 
 Are somewhat blind 
 
 To the many beautiful things we find. 
 
 It's rather complimentary 
 
 When competitors grab 
 
 And try to crab our acts. 
 
 Oft times their productions 
 
 Resemble Jim-cracks 
 
 Compared with ours. 
 
 So let them copy 
 
 And we'll continue to set the pace. 
 
 'Twas ever thus, with the human race. 
 
 A Scotch mist never misses anything. 
 
 How refreshing to meet a Freshman 
 
 In the first few months of his career. 
 
 And a few months later 
 
 What a chastened, sad and wiser man is he. 
 
 8 
 
In the spring, when a young man's fancy 
 Turns to Black Eyed Susans and tulips, 
 The more prosaic things like spuds and turnips 
 Go rutabegging. 
 
 Foolish wives, encouraged by irresponsible men, 
 
 Still continue to furnish our annual crop of has-beens. 
 
 Some will reply to this by saying, 
 
 I'd rather be a good has-been than a never-waser. 
 
 This scene is laid in new Nassau, 
 
 The old has passed away. 
 
 The modern jazz was in full swing. 
 
 And in the center, and making the. welkin ring, 
 
 Was one of the clan. Ban McGraw. 
 
 Another disputed his title 
 
 And Ban was raw. 
 
 And listening to the siren's song 
 
 Prodding him on. 
 
 He was in no mood for trifles. 
 
 So he took him on. 
 
 The jazz was stopped, all but the old bass horn. 
 
 And the battle raged until the poor bassoon. 
 
 Was laid away cold until the following day, 
 
 And Ban wasn't the one that was laid away. 
 
 There comes a time in the lives of men 
 When they're called upon to scale the top. 
 
 Then it rests with them 
 
 To surmount it without a flop. 
 
 With the hardening of the h( arteries) 
 
 There comes a lessening of the tension of the spring. 
 From hard and stony faces there is less of joyous laughter, 
 
 Seldom does the welkin ring. 
 
 "CORN STARCH" 
 
 What a prominent part in our lives it plays. 
 
 We have it in our soup, 
 (I am thankful it is not in our tea.) 
 You'll find it in your custard pie, 
 
 Also in the cake. 
 Please recommend to me something in which it is not baked, 
 
 Or stewed, or filtered through. 
 
The money that it once took to make the mare go 
 
 Doesn't carry you far with a flivver, 
 
 While the old gray mare oft went on a tare, 
 
 Kicked her heels in the air 
 
 And sometimes broke the fender, 
 
 Which didn't take much of the legal tender 
 
 To mend either her or the fender. 
 
 SON, WATCH YOUR STEP 
 
 You may have your fling, my son. 
 
 But beware lest it be too far flung, 
 
 For you cannot recall all the deeds you have done, 
 
 Even though you're forgiven. 
 
 There's the scars that's left, 
 
 And you're not quite like your former self. 
 
 There may be a girl come into your life, 
 
 A likely one that you might take for wife. 
 
 So guard your step and watch it well, 
 
 For there's a bottomless pit in the depths of hell. 
 
 Since the World War's ending 
 
 Have you not felt at times 
 
 That the atmosphere was surcharged 
 
 With some momentous thing impending? 
 
 While I'm not prepared to say what it means. 
 
 It may be to usher in a new regime. 
 
 A man who won't look out for his own interest 
 Isn't safe with your coupons. 
 
 A well known preacher of the Northwest 
 
 Received, a short time ago, a letter 
 
 From a colored member of the cloth, 
 
 Saying, "Brother, being six feet four inches tall, 
 
 I think that I could wear your suits, 
 
 Even though I wouldn't be entirely 
 
 Able to fill them with credit." 
 
 He received several, forthwith, 
 
 And now, like Solomon of old, he goes forth 
 
 Arraj^ed in all his glory. 
 
 And preaches to his flock 
 
 A better and more uplifting story. 
 
 The world seems to be getting safer for Democracy 
 But rather uncertain for some of the Aristocracy. 
 
 10 
 
INFLUENCES 
 
 We have but to read of the life 
 
 Of the late Lillian Russell, 
 
 To realize the great possibilities 
 
 Of individual life. When, having 
 
 Normal parents, their offspring is 
 
 Indellibly stamped by pre-natal influence 
 
 The mother has but to hold 
 
 To the thought of all that she holds dear 
 
 In future son or daughter, 
 
 Letting no trivial thing 
 
 Crowd out the thought. 'Tis but a prayer 
 
 For good, when once it's understood. 
 
 No doubt most of the talented ones of the past, 
 
 You can thus account for, first and last. 
 
 Twinkle, twinkle, little star 
 As you shine on a new Ford car. 
 Can you tell by your blinking eye, 
 What it really is from up so high? 
 
 We spend our substance in a day, 
 
 Then fret and fume 
 
 At the slower process, 
 
 The reannealing of the clay. 
 
 CLAMS VERSUS MAN 
 Clams are restricted in their range of vision, 
 They see through a water glass darkly; 
 Man, having a larger vision, 
 Doesn't necessarily have to stay in a rut. 
 It depends a great deal on the will. 
 
 Though the Humming Bird does not sing, 
 
 There's harmony in the vibration of his wings. 
 
 So well attuned are they to nature, 
 
 Of which he is a part. 
 
 You scarce note the difference. 
 
 When he makes a sudden dart, 
 
 In leaving a smaller flower, 
 
 For the larger one in the bower. 
 
 His is not an idle life. 
 
 Oft times he has a wife and fledglings, 
 
 Nestling behind the tendrils in the hedge. 
 
 Although he sips the honey on the wing, 
 
 If disturbed, he, unlike the bee, leaves no stino-. 
 
 11 
 
While Chastity bends and reels to the tune of Jazz, 
 
 There's lack of harmony in the air, 
 
 That rises to meet the vibrations from the stars. 
 
 Many who would dodge the sun 
 
 Are not so anxious to avoid the moonshine. 
 
 She laughed to get fat. 
 
 Now she'd like to be thin, 
 But the germ once inside 
 
 Refuses to come out again. 
 Another stunt she'll have to try. 
 
 Rolling on the floor and kicking sky-high. 
 
 The Lake Union Fleet having rested long. 
 
 And had its nap, will now be scrapped. 
 
 'Twas an empty honor, being admiral to that fleet, 
 
 No need of holy-stoning decks 
 
 While it slept, or splicing the main brace 
 
 Of which Uncle Sam does not approve. 
 
 Except they're three miles off shore. 
 
 We are living in age of irreverency. 
 And there is much misdirected energy 
 Among the youth, and a tendency 
 Not to take much of any responsibility. 
 Believing it better to 
 "Let George do it," and 
 He has his limitations, 
 He is catering to too many already-yet. 
 
 A presidential Bee has lodged in 
 Many an aspiring man's bonnet 
 
 And when it left him cold 
 
 He still was mad as a hornet. 
 
 Today you can play well your part. 
 With an unbiased mind and an open heart 
 It becomes a simple art. 
 
 12 
 
Three bricklayers were continually losing time, 
 
 It had been three weeks since the sun did shine, 
 
 And how their board bill did climb. 
 
 And to make it worse, the rain had slacked the lime, 
 
 And they were yet beating time 
 
 And using winter's scanty hoard 
 
 To pay their board. 
 
 But love is ever blind — 
 
 Women continue to marry bricklayers — 
 
 In the good old summer time. 
 
 NEW ERA CLUB 
 
 We are entering a new era, and partial disarmament finds the 
 
 world more anxious for a uniform creed. 
 It's all embraced in the Golden Rule, whose code of ethics 
 
 ever holds true. 
 Never demanding more of me than you. 
 
 Within the great Sargasso Sea 
 
 Many derelicts are floating round, 
 
 Even here on Puget Sound 
 Many may be found. 
 
 Miss Seattle, backed by Eastern and Western Washington, 
 
 Faces the East, calm in her loyalty. 
 
 Loud in her praise of lakes, rivers and Sound, 
 
 And farther away where mountains abound. 
 
 Bounteous crops never fail us. 
 
 Either in fruits or grain ; 
 
 We are never the losers, we always have gained. 
 
 Then you of the East come to the feast — 
 
 We'll make you a cobbler, both juicy and sweet, 
 
 The under crust of our good whole wheat. 
 
 We often read of a continental flight 
 
 That's about to be made. 
 
 The next we hear. 
 
 They have started on the first leg. 
 
 Followed by a report that something has gone wrong. 
 
 And they haven't a leg left to stand on. 
 
 13 
 
As we go up and down the vale, 
 Looking for the trail, 
 We often meet old Baal 
 With stock for sale, 
 As he gushingly tells us 
 Of his flowing well. 
 We can't help but think 
 That he wants our kale. 
 
 No matter what they say of you. 
 And more or less of that be true, 
 
 Be forgiving, cnange your mode of living. 
 Then they'll have that much less to say of you. 
 
 Love is often passive in the valley. 
 When it feels no pain ; 
 
 With the passing of the sunshine 
 And the coming of the rain. 
 
 Firm hearts meet the storms 
 Without a thought of pain. 
 
 Some receive their vision in the mountains 
 
 Or beside the sea; 
 Others get their vision while beneath the trees, 
 
 While the few visualize all three. 
 
 The Village Blacksmith is still a valiant man, 
 But Fords and autos have shooed the horse away; 
 
 And when he hangs a whiffletree 
 He hangs it on a tree. 
 
 Men of the past generation 
 
 Were taught to champion the rights of women; 
 
 Women now seem able to stand for their own rights. 
 
 Many a man when caught with the goods. 
 Makes a wry face and a poor mouth 
 When brought before the judge. 
 And some get away with it. 
 
 SAID SHE 
 
 W^hile we can no longer agree, 
 Let us feel that through Adam 
 We still have the same genealogical tree. 
 14^ 
 
AND THEY WERE 
 
 About the time the March zephyrs 
 First began to blow, 
 Some pussy-willows, advance agents, 
 Of Spring's varied floral shows. 
 Poked their soft furry noses. 
 Out into the cold and snow. 
 And rested while it blew. 
 
 Babylon rose to social heights, 
 
 But not to that o^ glory; 
 Had she trod a different path. 
 
 History would have chronicled a different story. 
 
 THE HOUSE THAT'S IVY CLAD 
 
 The house that's ivy clad 
 
 When diffused by the morning sun. 
 
 Appears to be glad. 
 
 Although a pearl gray tear 
 
 Sparkles here and there. 
 
 There's no need to despair — 
 
 They'll be absorbed 
 
 In the sunlit air. 
 
 A widowed mother, having but one. 
 And that a daughter. 
 She had lost her son, 
 
 (He'd eloped.) 
 She was kept busy shooing suitors away. 
 She was successful with all but one. 
 And he the most determined man under the sun. 
 He wouldn't be shooed, and she hadn't a gun. 
 And remembering the last act of her son. 
 She let the daughter go by the run. 
 And when in their own little home they had come 
 You couldn't drive her away. 
 She settled down. 
 
 Claiming they needed her the worst way. 
 There she stays to this day. 
 
 THE RAINBOW 
 
 The vivid, livid colors in the spectrum 
 That are thrown across the skies. 
 
 Revive in me a hope — 
 A hope that never dies. 
 
 15 
 
ECHOES OF THE PAST 
 
 The murmuring which you hear 
 Coming from the depths of Puget Sound 
 Are but faint echoes of the undertow, 
 Of ships that left here long ago. 
 Were last reported in dire straits, 
 Entering into an unknown sea, 
 As yet uncharted by you and me. 
 
 Truth ever living in the open 
 And above board, 
 Has no need of an excuse 
 Or subterfuge. 
 
 THE RABBIT'S FOOT 
 
 We claim no relationship with the evil one, 
 
 But we carry this fetich 
 
 Within the right hip pocket 
 
 And sometimes there's another kind 
 
 Within the other pocket. 
 
 It takes courage while paying for a dead horse 
 To have a live one eating his head off, 
 And nothing for him to do 
 To help you through. 
 
 He was only a soldier, like one of the many. 
 
 But it fell to his lot to be left behind 
 
 In storming the battlements that encased the Rhine. 
 
 His was a noble end. 
 
 When the last trump is called 
 
 He, arising in his place, will answer, 
 
 "All is well ! I gave my blood, 
 I did my best, 
 
 To break the hold 
 
 That the devil had wrest, 
 
 But couldn't hold 
 
 When put to the test." 
 With the setting of the sun 
 He's gone West. 
 In going East why should we mourn? 
 
 16 
 
Millions have lived upon this plane, 
 V/ho have not left a name 
 Emblazoned in the Hall of Fame, 
 But above, in the Hall of Justice, 
 They are immortalized with Peace 
 Through Love. 
 
 A chimpanzee may not have much refinement of feeling 
 
 Within his being, 
 But he can play on a tin pan to beat the band, 
 
 Can a chimpanzee. 
 
 This world is very much in need 
 
 Not of a new creed, 
 
 But a better application of the old. 
 
 Whose code of ethics ever holds true. 
 
 Never demanding more of me 
 
 Than it exacts of you. 
 
 But often giving and receiving 
 
 In larger measure than before. 
 
 Since the World War's ending 
 
 This message is being rejuvenated. 
 
 In fact it's in travail of a new birth. 
 
 Why not pass it on — 
 
 Let it be far flung 
 
 To the teeming millions of earth. 
 
 Whether beneath the tropic moon 
 
 Or under the shadows of the Midnight Sun, 
 
 It matters not their color 
 
 But depends upon the need. 
 
 Having Radio and knowing how sound and light waves travel, 
 We, ere long, may know more of the mysteries of the ether zones. 
 Enforced stay-at-homes now hear much of truth 
 That's lost to those that roam. 
 Making their abiding place 
 The more like home. 
 
 We're living in a time 
 When people like to spring 
 And break their fetters, 
 Going their neighbors one better. 
 
 17 
 
IN POSSUM LAND 
 
 No better Possum in de land than 
 
 In Georgia. 
 They shoot both Possum and Craps 
 
 In Georgia. 
 And sometimes a coon 
 Is caught in the trap, 
 In the scrap. 
 
 In Georgia. 
 
 RADIATING RADIOS 
 
 What are the Radio waves a-saying? 
 
 The best way is to listen in at home 
 
 Over your own receiving line, 
 
 Whose business end's a phone. 
 
 It's the same old story, 
 
 You'll often hear the world buttin' in. 
 
 Would take an aviator to get 'em off the line, 
 
 And that would be too much waste of time. 
 
 Many of us would be less given to seeing red 
 If we kept better hours and went to bed at ten. 
 Instead of borrowing from the next day 
 Before we finally hit the hay. 
 
 HOSIERY 
 
 For length and breadth and height 
 
 And variegated hues, 
 A man having good sight 
 
 Need never have the blues. 
 
 Seattle played well the host 
 
 To Marshals Joffre and Ferdinand Foch, 
 
 One born on the border of France and Spain, 
 
 They've not been idle, or lived in vain. 
 
 For these are names that will endure. 
 
 Stars emblazoned upon Time's Historic page 
 
 When all is said and done 
 
 What does man really amount to 
 
 Unless he asserts himself, 
 
 And shows that he possesses a backbone 
 
 And is not a spineless worm? 
 
Peggy, my girl, beware 
 
 You still have many leagues to go, 
 
 And only one pair of feet. 
 
 So conserve your strength 
 
 And watch your step. 
 
 We know it's natural for you 
 
 To have lots of pep. 
 
 There are slippery places in the walks, you know, 
 
 So, now again we say, 
 
 Watch you step. 
 
 To those who awaken at break of day 
 
 And hear the robin pipe his lay, 
 
 And sing it in such a peculiar way 
 
 That only he knows how to say, 
 
 At that critical moment when night gives way to day. 
 
 Feel well repaid, thankful 
 
 That they'd not overlaid. 
 
 Some men are naturally retiring, 
 
 Others claim to be, 
 
 As some clothing firms we see 
 
 Who made that statement years ago, 
 
 Are still in the game, and show 
 
 No intentions of retiring out of sight, 
 
 Of closing doors and saying good-night. 
 
 Retiring Mayor Caldwell and Mayor-elect Brown 
 
 Tripped to Skagit town 
 
 And standing shoulder to shoulder 
 
 And looking up the gorge. 
 
 Both realized with one accord 
 
 The vast potentialities 
 
 Of that wonderful power. 
 
 Now ye taxpayers of this fair city. 
 
 Pay heed. This project when complete 
 
 And conducted by competent men, will eventually 
 
 Pay off our city carline bonds and some left 
 
 In the exchequer. 
 
 The infinite mind takes care of the tatters, 
 No matter how battered they be. 
 
 Even calms tempestuous seas 
 
 That are ever welling in you and me. 
 
 19 
 
RUTH 
 
 Yes, that's her name. 
 
 She came into my life, 
 
 And having the right alloy, 
 
 Association with her did not annoy 
 
 We're married now, yes, it's a boy. 
 
 We've named him Roy. 
 
 We have settled by the fire. 
 
 Joy, bring daddy's slippers. 
 
 At-a-boy. 
 
 A seeker of truth having faith. 
 
 Was guided by understanding. 
 
 To the stage of life, 
 
 Whereby wise counsel and exaltations. 
 
 Were made to feel 
 
 That only through being humble, 
 
 Could he best serve his fellow man. 
 
 Down through the ages 
 
 There have been songs of praises. 
 
 Now let the welkin ring. 
 
 With hozannas to our Guide and King. 
 
 BILLICUM 
 
 Living on Yesler Way 
 
 Is the original Billicum. 
 
 He is nine or ten, I should say. 
 
 Met him one rainy day. 
 
 Had on a fisherman's suit, including the boots. 
 
 Hoot mon, he'd make you laugh, 
 
 This original Billicum boy. 
 
 While within the adolescent age, 
 
 Children should be allowed 
 
 Both to romp and play, 
 
 Rolling, bowling and sometimes strolling, 
 
 But not out upon the great highway. 
 
 Where Lizzies flit and sometimes hit. 
 
 Let them play within their yard. 
 
 And all formalities discard. 
 
 If they're under proper care. 
 
 Some roll them low. 
 Some roll them high. 
 
 High or low 
 
 They catch papa's eye 
 
 20 
 
Though we buckle on the armor 
 Morning, noon and night, 
 
 Often when corrected 
 
 We're inclined to start a fight. 
 
 In the U. S. A. we are in a state of ferment, 
 They've been raising it 
 Until they've got a bead on it, 
 
 But many of Uncle Sam's sleuth hounds 
 Have a line on only a small part of it. 
 
 BOUNTEOUS GIVING 
 
 There's bounteous returns 
 
 To those who are giving. 
 
 It's a fine art, this better mode of living. 
 
 Where it comes from the humble heart. 
 
 Constantly giving, yet having more. 
 
 It's God's decree, that having given 
 
 Apparently all of your store, 
 
 In the wellsprings of life 
 
 There's so very much more. 
 
 That you and I can never lessen the store. 
 
 HUSBANDS, ATTENTION! 
 
 Seattle housewives are ever on the scent 
 
 Not always for money boned, or lent; 
 
 But for saving, where it's spent. 
 
 With the average woman it's the natural bent. 
 
 Man doesn't have it to the same extent. 
 
 He earns it while Mollie caulks the seams and lessens rent. 
 
 And having a saving wife, it don't always pay to ask 
 
 Where it went. Sometimes taking it for granted 
 
 And be content. 
 
 FEAST OF NATIONS 
 
 Nations will feast in larger measure 
 
 Only as they increase in wisdom and understanding 
 
 Realizing that one is as good as another 
 
 In the sight of God. If they've but the faith 
 
 Of their fathers, and larger vision 
 
 Of the Mother of us all, whose heart goes out to us 
 
 Since Adam's fall. 
 
 21 
 
'Tis not enough 
 
 When we have planted seed on fallow ground, 
 
 For our potatoes we must scratch and dig, 
 
 And make and keep mellow ground. 
 
 And see that water goes the round, 
 
 But not too damp, 
 
 For that would cause 
 
 Both scale and rot. 
 
 Then without a crop 
 
 Many would cry and wail 
 
 But that would not avail, 
 
 None to eat and less for sale. 
 
 THE CURSE OF TODAY 
 
 Our day of grace, 
 
 In which we've faced 
 
 The problems of 1922, 
 
 Are nearly through. 
 
 Now it rests with you and me. 
 
 Since we've agreed on a working plan 
 
 That will protect our fellow man 
 
 In his fight against the narcotic foe, 
 
 That insidious thing 
 
 Controlled by the devil's ring. 
 
 That carries with it such a viper's sting. 
 
 Befogs the mind and dims the vision. 
 
 Shrinks the heart and warps the soul, 
 
 That was in quest of a better goal. 
 
 Now, any man who would sell such stuff 
 
 Outside of urgent use, 
 
 Should be kept in durance vile 
 
 And all the while be served 
 
 With bitter aloes and wormwood tea, 
 
 A quite insufficient penalty. 
 
 You'll with me agree. 
 
 BETWEEN THE LINES 
 
 Altho a faded and withered rose 
 
 My resting place a bed of prose. 
 While my spirit dwells in the heart of the Muse 
 
 Where the mystic rythm does not confuse. 
 
 ?? 
 
THE PILGRIM ON THE WAY 
 
 Tho dyed in the wool, 
 
 A wisp of gray 
 
 This animated bit of clay 
 
 Was scarce noticed 
 
 Upon the great highway. 
 
 But a sparrow cannot fall 
 
 Without the Master knowing all. 
 
 As the wind is tempered to the shorn lamb 
 
 So is it to the Pilgrim on the road 
 
 Whose back is strengthened 
 
 To carry the load, 
 
 As he faithfully struggles on. 
 
 What cares he for scorn, 
 
 Being unafraid, he takes the grade 
 
 That the uninitiated could not have made. 
 
 THE TRAFFIC COP 
 
 Within the center of the congested street. 
 
 Is the small confine of the traffic man's beat, 
 
 As he swings his sign to and fro. 
 
 Pointedly telling you to "Stop" or "Go." 
 
 Do not ignore the traffic cop 
 
 When he tells you to go or stop. 
 
 Violators oft go to the shop for repairs. 
 
 Whether in autos, or jaywalking across the square. 
 
 THE BEACON OF LIGHT 
 
 Dark though the night. 
 
 There's a radiant glow 
 
 Diffusing spiritual light 
 
 Where e'er you go. 
 
 Roll high the shade; 
 
 Then into your heart 
 
 Come's the Soul's Beacon of Light, 
 
 Communion by day, guiding at night. 
 
 As we exercise and fertilize the mind. 
 Let it not be at the expense of the spine. 
 
 I've been living in the valley, 
 AVhen there came depression 
 I upward looked and lived. 
 Where there's a vision of the hills, 
 
 23 
 
Music has charms to soothe 
 The savage in our breasts, 
 
 And calm our minds, 
 
 When under great duress. 
 
 DOGS 
 
 How they romp and love to play, 
 
 When we have a pleasant day. 
 
 Have you noticed them upon the lawn? 
 
 One stood as a sentinel by the way, 
 
 While the other with his ears laid back. 
 
 Made of the lawn a circular track, 
 
 As he surged around him front and back. 
 
 And then they both tore up the track, 
 
 And tired out, they soon came back. 
 
 And lying prone upon the ground, 
 
 With lolling tongue they made faint sound, 
 
 So much like tired romping children. 
 
 We fill our lives with nonessentials, 
 
 And when called upon to deliver the goods. 
 
 We haven't the credentials. 
 
 Have you been depressed. 
 
 When rocked in the cradle of the deep, 
 And had scarce the strength 
 
 The vigil to keep? 
 Then with the parting of the waves. 
 
 You beheld the silver lining. 
 Then your hopes and aspirations, 
 
 W^ent soaring and a-climbing. 
 
 The spring of perpetual youth 
 
 Rests in the heart of man. 
 
 While the fountain's head is higher up. 
 
 There's always sufficient for you to sup ; 
 
 So drink to your fill. 
 
 And impart the good will. 
 
 That others may live and enjoy the product 
 
 That wise nature distilled. 
 
 There are some phases of human woe 
 Not fully given man to know. 
 The loss to a mother of her only son 
 Who but glanced the horizon of Life, 
 Then left this sphere with all its strife. 
 
 24 
 
The fate of nations hangs in the balance, 
 
 They are nearing the precipice. 
 
 There's an urgent need of a counterbalance. 
 
 Civilization is seeing red, 
 
 While going through the crucible. 
 
 It will emerge 
 
 After being purged 
 
 Of its tinsel and dross 
 
 And baser metals 
 
 Into a more refined product, 
 
 An amalgamation 
 
 Trued, as steel. 
 
 That will better measure up 
 
 To the Golden Rule. 
 
 Strange vibrations in the air, 
 
 Spooks are on a tare. 
 
 What an intangible thing is a ghost, 
 
 You fail to grasp him 
 
 When you'd like to most. 
 
 He's never sociable to his host. 
 
 While Seattle has the right Spirit, 
 She hasn't it all ; 
 
 Tacoma has some of that dope herself. 
 And more brewing. 
 
 When pulse is weak and the eye grows dim. 
 
 What is that to her or him. 
 
 Where the mind and heart are attuned 
 
 To a higher plane. Though the sun may scorch 
 
 And there comes wind and rain, 
 
 What care they? 
 
 'Tis but the price they owe 
 
 To the one who paid. 
 
 SPRING TONICS 
 
 Twas easy for me to take pennyroyal and wormwood tea when 
 
 a boy, 
 But when called upon to take harlem p.nd castor oil. 
 Then was the battle roval. 
 
 Artists are born, not made. 
 
 He who has not the temperament. 
 
 Had better learn a trade. 
 
 25 
 
Toda)' came an awakening, 
 
 To her who had been but a pawn. 
 
 While he had played the game, 
 And time went on, 
 
 And no longer interesting to him is her song, 
 So he travels on. 
 
 Some folks say when a man's forty 
 
 He can't come back. 
 
 Often all that's needed 
 
 Is getting on another track. 
 
 And ripped things up the back. 
 
 A change of tide may bring a favorable breeze. 
 
 Making your competitors wheeze. 
 
 A little bird sang to me, 
 
 With quiet and mellowed thrill. 
 I felt I'd received a blessing 
 
 Through his good will. 
 
 A she bear lay wounded in her lair, 
 
 And she had little strength to spare; 
 
 But her cubs were there, 
 
 So she gave to them 
 
 The little she had to share. 
 
 ONLY A WEEK 
 
 Unsullied by the world, 
 
 He returned from his week's vacation. 
 It might have been different 
 
 Had it been of longer duration. 
 
 THE BLUEBIRD 
 
 You're a belated harbinger of Spring. 
 Nevertheless, you make the welkin ring. 
 As you sing your lays today — 
 A lift for work and a lilt for play — 
 Joyous melody through ail the day. 
 
 Tractors as universal plowshares will soon be in vogue 
 They are taking the boss — but leaving the dogue. 
 Even when Genius but occasionally flashes in the pan 
 Let's give credit to our fellow man. 
 
 26 
 
THE SEATTLE SPIRIT 
 
 The Seattle Spirit would be truer to form 
 
 If it lived more in the light in which it was born. 
 
 Born in the faith that will never say die, 
 
 Are axioms for you and I. 
 
 I oft drink to thine eyes, 
 
 But it is to the heart I would speak. 
 
 A responsive appeal would cause mine to blink. 
 
 Oft the drink that's brewed today, 
 
 Turns to bitterness in the cup. 
 
 When later we would sup and drive dull care away. 
 
 A church on the hill near Yesler Way has a cross. 
 
 And a few days ago a yellow-hammer was there drilling away. 
 
 You could hear him for blocks around. 
 
 You'd have thought him a riveter by the sound. 
 
 He probably was sharpening his drill, 
 
 For he looked too wise a bird 
 
 To expect to find worms in a cross, 
 
 That is placed en the roof of a church on the hill. 
 
 Beauty and the beast attend a feast. 
 
 He being indisposed. 
 
 She advises a cake of yeast. 
 
 Later when called upon to give a toast, 
 
 He responded with wit and vim. 
 
 Vitamines were working with him. 
 
 Taking the bull by the horns 
 Is easier said than done. 
 
 A novice who tried it, 
 
 Thought a catapult had sprung. 
 
 When the finality has come 
 
 And all has been said and dene worth while, 
 A smile and a waft of the hand 
 Lingers long in the mind and heart 
 
 Of man or child. 
 
 A man may be filled with malice and guile, 
 
 But there are few among them. 
 
 That would break faith 
 
 When once he'd pledged himself with a child. 
 
 27 
 
For she'd accepted you, 
 
 With all the sincerity of youth, 
 
 And that is why you've kept your word 
 
 With her, your little ward. 
 
 In the heart of a mart of trade 
 
 A slim and petite maiden 
 
 Sold me a roast of beef. 
 
 And in the same day a block away, 
 
 A short and beefy girl 
 
 Sold me clinging chiffons and lace, 
 
 Neither one had found her place. 
 
 THE SEATTLE SPIRIT 
 
 Is it hard to define? 
 
 No, if you'll but get through the rind ; 
 
 Then cut to the quick, 
 
 There at the heart of the core, 
 
 You'll find 
 
 A spirit existing. 
 
 That never says die. 
 
 Born of that spirit, are you and I. 
 
 Having a reprobate mind 
 
 Is due to the liver ; 
 If not cured in the vale. 
 
 There's faint hope beyond the river. 
 
 The impression we make on the world 
 
 Depends to a great extent 
 
 On pre-natal influences. 
 
 Unless you recognize and 
 
 Overcome the handicap 
 
 Today you can play well your part. 
 
 With an unbiased mind and an open heart, 
 
 It becomes a simple art. 
 
 WOMEN 
 
 One mere man says: 
 "She's a lemon sour." 
 He evidently has received a punch. 
 
 Another, more complimentary, says: 
 "She's a man's safety valve." 
 He's probably inclined to tank up. 
 
 28 
 
Many carp about the social warp and filling, 
 Then they jazz instead of getting in and drilling. 
 
 I ate an egg that came from storage, 
 Judging from the taste of it, 
 It long had paid demurrage. 
 
 AND SPEAKING OF EGGS 
 
 In the local market we have a wide variety to choose from, 
 
 They range from local to bifocal. 
 
 You'll more readily understand me when I'm through, 
 
 There's the large brown and white eggs, 
 
 And the nondescript which include pullets, pewees, 
 
 And last and least, weewees. 
 
 Otherwise known as bifocals. 
 
 It's hard to locate the source of supply, 
 
 Although there are many pigeon lofts close by. 
 
 They seem to be here to stay your stomach. 
 
 Provided you eat enough of them. 
 
 They who the golden rule would seek. 
 Need more humility and less of cheek. 
 
 We jazz and swing. 
 And have our fling. 
 Like Babylon of old, 
 We surely pay the piper. 
 
 When the Irish become amenable to reason. 
 
 And can meet on common ground, 
 
 Plant and raise their spuds without friction. 
 
 And community pigs meet on the square ; 
 
 Without bristles standing in air. 
 
 Then the Millennium will be near at hand 
 
 To greet the Irish Super Man. 
 
 29 
 
THE SUNLIT FLOWER 
 
 Had I the power to create a flower, 
 
 I'd combine them all as one, 
 
 With the fragrance of May and June. 
 
 Then, having sprinkled well with dew, 
 
 Would lift the shade 
 
 And let the sun shine through, 
 
 Presenting it to you. 
 
 3477-1 3 jf^^^* 
 
 lot 74 
 
<v % '^""' ^^ \. "' .<y %^ ' 
 

 
 
 o . . - ^0 
 
 "^9-, * o « ' -^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 .v^. 
 
 
 .,^' 
 
 «\4?:?';^ ' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 .r^ ,.„ % ' r,^ 
 
 X- 
 
 
 
 V\^' 
 
 ° cV' 
 
 1 v 
 
 
 •>* 
 
 
 
 % 
 
 '^^. 
 
 
 
 
 V 
 
 / 
 
 * 
 
 
 
 
 <^^ 
 
 o * 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ' ^^'AJ'. > 
 
 ^-JnC^T; 
 
 "^ 
 
 
 
 JVH S 8 
 
 i"^'" 
 
 -V.