"I WANT to p'ay lady, dear mamma, Does you tare if I put on your jess? An' fan wid your fan jus' a little, O p'ease, mamma, won't you say yes? I'll be jus' as tickler as tan be An' pin the long twail up before. P'ease tuck up my turls wid a hair pin, An' the wibbon you buyed from the 'tore. I dressed her up fine—as she wished me— And smiled at her dignified mien, Then stooped down and kissed the weemidget, Who carried herself like a queen. As she paced to and fro, just before me Her lengthy trail sweeping the floor, I thought what a quaint little woman, Is Mabel, whose summers are four. But a pucker disfigured her features, And her dimples were lost in a frown, As she came and stood meekly beside me, And said as she shyly glanced down; "Does ladies go bare-footed, mamma? Dey'd be 'shamed of dey selves if dey did, I'll put on my shoes in a minute An' den my bare foots will be hid." So she seated herself on the carpet And put on a stocking and shoe, With the other in hand, naively asking, "Now mamma dear, what mus' I do?" I glanced down to gather her meaning, A puzzled look clouded her face; Then lifting her brown eyes she added With a look full of infantile grace: "Which foots does this udder shoe b'long on?" "Why sweet, are you asking for fun?" "O no, I had weally fordotten, It b'longs on the @3bare headed@1 one." | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE POLAR QUEST by RICHARD EUGENE BURTON A CRADLE SONG by PADRAIC COLUM THE MASK by CLARISSA SCOTT DELANY SEA GODS: 2 by HILDA DOOLITTLE THE BABY, FR. AT THE BACK OF THE NORTH WIND by GEORGE MACDONALD WRAITH by EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY |