Classic Poem

At Billy Miller's Circus-Show —
In their old stable where it's at —
The boys pays twenty pins to go,
An' gits their money's-worth at that! —
'Cause Billy he can climb and chalk
His stockin'-feet an' purt' nigh walk
A tight-rope — yes, an' ef he fall
He'll ketch, an' " skin a cat " — 'at's all!

He ain't afeard to swing and hang
Ist by his legs! — an' mayby stop
An' yell " Look out! " an' nen — k-spang! —
He'll let loose, upside-down, an' drop
Wite on his hands! An' nen he'll do
" Contortion-acts " — ist limber through
As " Injarubber Mens " 'at goes
With shore-fer-certain circus-shows!

At Billy Miller's Circus-Show
He's got a circus-ring — an' they's
A dressin'-room, — so's he can go
An' dress an' paint up when he plays
He's somepin' else; — 'cause sometimes he's
" Ringmaster " — bossin' like he please —
An' sometimes " Ephalunt " — er " Bare-
Back Rider, " prancin' out o' there!

An' sometimes — an' the best of all! —
He's " The Old Clown, " an' got on clo'es
All stripud, — an' white hat, all tall
An' peakud — like in shore-'nuff shows, —
An' got three-cornered red-marks, too,
On his white cheeks — ist like they do! —
An' you'd ist die, the way he sings
An' dances an' says funny things!