Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE JOLLY JITNEY by AMOS RUSSEL WELLS

First Line: THE JITNEY DODGES IN AND OUT
Last Line: FOR ONLY HALF A DIME.

The jitney dodges in and out
With rubber-footed grace;
Its heart is merry, bold, and stout,
It holds a dashing pace.
It sports a nabob luxury
With democratic air;
And all can lords and ladies be,
For nickels are the fare.
With subtle witchery and wile,
Patrician and sublime,
It gives a dollar's worth of style
For only half a dime.

The weary hanger at the strap
Has found his own at last;
Upon a kindly leathery lap
His grateful bulk is cast.
No treading on another's toes,
No struggle for the door;
Our hunching, bunching, crunching woes,
Our grumbling woes are o'er.
It soothes, it purs, our soul it frees
From worry, toil, and grime;
It gives a dollar's worth of ease
For only half a dime.

It bids adieu to clanging din,
To fetters of the rail;
A free domain it travels in,
And halts at any hail.
It gathers up a friendly crowd,
And jesting fancies play,
Where none are cross and none are proud,
But all are blithe and gay.
And when the jolly trip is done
In really record time,
We've had a dollar's worth of fun
For only half a dime.



Home: PoetryExplorer.net