A Psalm Of Life



Tal me not, yu knocking fallers,
Life ban only empty dream;
Dar ban planty fun, ay tal yu,
Ef yu try Yohn Yohnson's scheme.
Yohn ban yust a section foreman,
Vorking hard vay up on Soo;
He ban yust so glad in morning
As ven all his vork ban tru.
  
"Vork," say Yohn, "ban vat yu mak it.
Ef yu tenk yure vork ban hard,
Yu skol having planty headaches, -
Yes, yu bet yure life, old pard;
But ay alvays yerk my coat off,
Grab my shovel and my pick,
And dis yob ant seem lak hard von
Ef ay du it purty qvick."
  
Yohn ban foreman over fallers.
He ant have to vork, yu see;
But, yu bet, he ant no loafer,
And he yust digs in, by yee!
"Listen, Olaf," he skol tal me,
"Making living ant no trick.
And the hardest yob ban easy
Ef yu only du it qvick!"
  
"Let us den be op and yumping,
Always glad to plow tru drift;
Ven our vork ban done, den let us
Give some oder faller lift.
Den, ay bet yu, old Saint Peter,
He skol tenk ve're purty slick;
Ve can go tru gates, ay bet yu,
Ef ve only du it qvick!"
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Submitted on August 03, 2020

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:03 min read
2

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCBXADE FXAFXGXD AAEHHGAD DIAIEGCD
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 960
Words 215
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8

William F Kirk

William Frederick Kirk (April 29, 1877 – March 25, 1927) was an American baseball writer, columnist, humorist, poet and songwriter.  more…

All William F Kirk poems | William F Kirk Books

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