THE delegate who's slow but sure is nearly always sadly poor. I hire some fellows, then and now, to mow the lawn or sheer the cow, to shovel snow or whack up wood, and "Slow but Sure" is not much good. It puts a wire edge on my nerves to watch the slow man's languid curves, to see him stand around perplext, as doubting what he should do next. I pay him, when he's done, his yen, but do not hire that man again, if I need help to mow the grass, or cultivate the garden sass. He may be sure, but he's too slow; when he is weaving to and fro, you have to line him with a post, to see which one is moving most. The man who wishes to arrive, must show the village he's alive. When he is going anywhere, his coat tails flap the balmy air; however humble be his grind, he leaves a trail of dust behind. In every action, every step, he shows that he is full of pep. Employers seek that hustling gent, in whom such shining traits are blent. His energy allures, enchants. We let him wed our maiden aunts. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...WORDS INTO WORDS WON'T GO by CLARENCE MAJOR A MOMENT by MARY ELIZABETH COLERIDGE A NORTHERN SUBURB by JOHN DAVIDSON LIFE [AND THE FLOWERS] by GEORGE HERBERT INTROSPECTION by GEORGE ARNOLD TO A FATHER, ON THE DEATH OF HIS ONLY CHILD by BERNARD BARTON THE TRUE LOVE-KNOTT by JOSEPH BEAUMONT DOOMSDAY by THOMAS LOVELL BEDDOES ENGLISH ENCOURAGEMENT OF ART (FIRST READING) by WILLIAM BLAKE |