You think that you are Anns suitor; that you are the pursuer and she the pursued; that it is your part to woo, to persuade, to prevail, to overcome. Fool: it is you who are the pursued, the marked-down quarry, the destined prey.
If I should die to-night1 And you should come in deepest grief and woe And say:Heres that ten dollars that I owe, I might arise in my large white cravat And say, Whats that?
Nothing to do but work, Nothing to eat but food, Nothing to wear but clothes To keep one from going nude.
The Pessimist.
Note 1. Parody on: If I should die to-night, My friends would look upon my quiet face Before they laid it in its resting-place, And deem that death had left it almost fair. Belle E. Smith. [back]