THAT'S HER PRIVILEGE by BERTON BRALEY

Of all human beings a wife is the queerest;
Her mind works in ways that are hard to explain.
For though among men she holds hubby the dearest,
She constantly tells him he hasn't a brain.
Whatever he plans and however he plans it
She's certain is nothing but folly and rot,
There isn't a job that he does—as she scans it—
That somebody else couldn't better a lot.

Whatever his eminence, riches or glory,
She treats him like some stupid pupil in school.
She says he can't dance and he can't tell a story,
His clothes are all wrong and he drives like a fool.
Why can't he play bridge like his friend Mr. Cooney?
Why can't he make money like Harry and Dick?
Why is it he acts so persistently looney?
And why is his head so exceedingly thick?

She's sure he was spoiled by his father and mother,
She knows he is spoiled at the office and club.
He's flattered by fools! Well, @3she@1 won't be another.
She knows he's a moron, a dumbbell, a dub.
—But let Someone Else say a word of detraction,
She'll fight like a tigress defending her den,
With teeth, nails, and tongue she will spring into action
To prove that her husband's the smartest of men!

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

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