Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, OPTIMIST AND PESSIMIST, by AMOS RUSSEL WELLS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

OPTIMIST AND PESSIMIST, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: The right will triumph,' jones declared
Last Line: "it's what a fellow does."
Subject(s): Hope; Pessimism; War Bonds; Optimism


"The right will triumph," Jones declared,
"For God's against the wrong";
And so serenely on he fared,
Humming a peaceful song.
When others to the battle went
He thought their faith was lax;
He got his cheerful six per cent,
And shunned the income tax.
He would not read what others read
Of hero deeds sublime;
"Just leave the mess alone," he said;
"'Twill all come right in time."
He would not join the martial crowd,
Their needless flags unfurled:
"God's in His heaven," Jones avowed,
"And all's right with the world."

A very different man is Brown:
He wears an anxious air,
His brow is knitted in a frown,
His body bent with care.
"The world," he says, "is on the brink
Of hideous, endless woe."
Whatever men may do or think,
He knows that this is so.
And yet he had his sons enlist,
And they were in the fight;
And once he downed a pacifist,
And served the fellow right.
Before his house five banners wave
As grimly he desponds,
And every dollar he can save
Goes into Liberty Bonds.

"Oh, talk is cheap," says Uncle Ez,
"Is now and always was:
It isn't what a fellow says,
It's what a fellow does."





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