A PASSEL o' the boys last night -- An' me amongst 'em -- kind o' got To talkin' Temper'nce left an' right, An' workin' up "blue-ribbon," @3hot;@1 An' while we was a-countin' jes' How many hed gone into hit An' signed the pledge, some feller says, -- "Tom Johnson's quit!" We laughed, of course -- 'cause Tom, you know, Has spiled more whisky, boy an' man, And seed more trouble, high an' low, Than any chap but Tom could stand: And so, says I, "@3He's@1 too nigh dead Fer Temper'nce to benefit!" The feller sighed ag'in, and said -- "Tom Johnson's quit!" We all @3liked@1 Tom, an' that was why We sort o' simmered down ag'in, And ast the feller ser'ously Ef he wa'n't tryin' to draw us in: He shuck his head -- tuck off his hat -- Helt up his hand an' opened hit, An' says, says he, "I'll @3swear@1 to that -- Tom Johnson's quit!" Well, we was stumpt, an' tickled, too, -- Because we knowed ef Tom @3hed@1 signed There wa'n't no man 'at wore the "blue" 'At was more honester inclined: An' then and there we kind o' riz, -- The hull dern gang of us 'at bit -- An' th'owed our hats and let 'er whiz, -- @3"Tom Johnson's quit!"@1 I've heerd 'em holler when the balls Was buzzin' 'round us wus'n bees, An' when the ole flag on the walls Was flappin' o'er the enemy's, I've heerd a-many a wild "hooray" 'At made my heart git up an' git -- But Lord! -- to hear 'em shout that way! -- @3"Tom Johnson's quit!"@1 But when we saw the chap 'at fetched The news wa'n't jinin' in the cheer, But stood there solemn-like, an' reched An' kind o' wiped away a tear, We someway sort o' stilled ag'in, And listened -- I kin hear him yit, His voice a-wobblin' with his chin, -- "Tom Johnson's quit!" "I hain't a-givin' you no game -- I wisht I was! . . . An hour ago, This operator -- what's his name -- The one 'at works at night, you know? -- Went out to flag that Ten Express, And sees a man in front of hit Th'ow up his hands an' stagger -- yes, -- @3"Tom Johnson's quit!"@1 | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE FIRST VOYAGE OF JOHN CABOT [1497] by KATHARINE LEE BATES ON THE DEATH OF DR. ROBERT LEVET, A PRACTISER IN PHYSIC by SAMUEL JOHNSON (1709-1784) THE SOLITARY TOMB by BERNARD BARTON DON'T YOU SEE? by KATHARINE LEE BATES RECOLLECTIONS OF SOLITUDE; AN ELEGY by ROBERT SEYMOUR BRIDGES ECCLESIASTES by THOMAS EDWARD BROWN ITALY by WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT EPIGRAM ON AN OLD LADY WHO HAD SOME CURIOUS NOTIONS by GEORGE GORDON BYRON |