Said the able young commander
just before his final wheeze,
"Were I not Alexander,
I would be Diogenes."
Bobby Lee, the General said,
"Let the tent be struck,"
and Old Dan Webster, "I still live,"
before he passed the buck.
Grover Cleveland swallowed
when he felt the sudden sting--
"I have tried so hard," he said,
"to do the right thing."
"So little done, so much to do,"
Cecil Rhodes--accorded to--
and as he sank forever mute,
great Caesar said, "Et Tu Brute
A POUND OF PAIN
A pound of pain fell on my brain
and settled on my brow--
after thought, I felt it best
to get it off somehow--
I stood in place and slapped my face
so hard I did allow
my nose to break and my teeth to ache,
but I feel better now.
DOG DAYS OF DAKOTA
In the dog days of Dakota,
in the earliness of my rending,
I once saw a sight,
a streak of light descending.
What is this needless thing, I asked?
I have my bike. I have my ring.
I have my knife.What more of life
need I to sing?
But on it came and stood before me,
a fine and shiny odd-shaped box;
I looked it up and I looked it down
like a June born, day old fox.
Yes, I do believe that it was standing,
its parts seemed neither creased nor bent,
but I must admit, I was never sure
of what it was, or what it meant.
For in the dogs days of Dakota,
when such fancies came my way,
I was unaware that I might care
how much they would mean to me today.
J.D. Heskin
Duluth, Minnesota