Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ALL IN THE FAMILY, by BERTON BRALEY


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ALL IN THE FAMILY, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Jim hood was a mellow and genial fellow
Last Line: "of course she's a sister of mine!"
Subject(s): Elk


Jim Hood was a mellow and genial fellow,
An Elk with an oversize heart;
He needed no paging to aid in assuaging
The woes that cause tear-drops to start;
With sympathy, friendship and—frequently—cash,
He'd keep some poor devil from going to smash
And cheer him in sorrow and pain;
And when people asked in bewilderment, "Why,
Oh, why did you trouble yourself with that guy?"
Jim Hood would succinctly explain:

"Well, I am an Elk, and being an Elk,
Of course, you can easily see
That what I might do for a chap who was blue
Was kind of expected of me!
So I did what I could—for I never feel good
To see any Brother repine;
And he was an Elk, or the son of an Elk
Or the father or brother or friend of an Elk—
Well, anyway, he was as human as I
And therefore a Brother of Mine!"

When folks proved ungrateful Jim didn't grow hateful
Or acrid and bitter of tongue,
"Oh, well," he would chortle, "we're all of us mortal
And sometimes, of course, we get stung!
We're bound to go wrong on a bet now and then
Because we're not dealing with angels, but men;
And as for the women—why, say,
Whenever I meet any woman I find
It's no more than wise to be gentle and kind,
For I sort of figure this way:

"Now I am an Elk, and being an Elk
The code of the order, you see,
Quite plainly directs that the feminine sex
Shall always be honored by me;
So each woman I meet I endeavor to treat
With a courtesy honest and fine,
For she may be the sweetheart or wife of an Elk—
Or the sister or daughter or friend of an Elk—
Or the mother or cousin or aunt of an Elk—
Well, anyway, she is woman and so
Of course she's a Sister of Mine!"





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