Classic Poem

"Il y a tous les jours quelque dam chose."
--ABELARD TO HELOISE.


When Mrs. Mead was full of groans,
When symptoms of all sorts assailed her,
She sent for bluff old Doctor Jones,
And told him all the things that ailed her.
It took her nearly half the day,
And when she finished out the string--
"Ye-e-s, Mrs. Mead," drawled Doctor J.,
"There's always some dam thing."

I like the line. It's worth a ton
Of optimistic commonplaces.
It's tonic, it refreshes one,
It cheers, it stimulates, it braces.
It summarizes things so well;
It has the philosophic ring.
Has Kant or Hegel more to tell?
"There's always some dam thing."

The dean of all the cheer-up school
Adjures sad hearts to cease repining,
And intimates that, as a rule,
The sun behind the cloud is shining.
"Into each life----" You know the rest;
No need to finish out the string.
Longfellow boiled might be expressed,
"There's always some dam thing."

When things go wrong I do not read
The cheer-up poets, great or lesser.
To soothe my soul I do not need
The Neo-Thought of Mr. Dresser.
Sufficient for each working day,
With all the worries it may bring,
That helpful line by Doctor J.,
"There's always some dam thing."