Classic Poem

We were very tired, we were very merry —
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry.
It was bare and bright, and smelled like a stable —
But we looked into a fire, we leaned across a table,
We lay on the hill-top underneath the moon;
And the whistles kept blowing, and the dawn came soon.

We were very tired, we were very merry —
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry;
And you ate an apple, and I ate a pear,
From a dozen of each we had bought somewhere;
And the sky went wan, and the wind came cold,
And the sun rose dripping, a bucketful of gold.

We were very tired, we were very merry,
We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry.
We hailed, " Good morrow, mother! " to a shawl-covered head,
And bought a morning paper, which neither of us read;
And she wept, " God bless you! " for the apples and pears,
And we gave her all our money but our subway fares.
— E DNA S T . V INCENT M ILLAY , in Poetry .

I was very sad, I was very solemn —
I had worked all day grinding out a column.
I came back from dinner at half-past seven,
And I couldn't think of anything till quarter to eleven;
And then I read " Recuerdo, " by Miss Millay,
And I said, " I'll bet a nickel I can write that way. "

I was very sad, I was very solemn —
I had worked all day whittling out a column.
I said, " I'll bet a nickel I can chirp such a chant, "
And Mr. Geoffrey Parsons said, " I'll bet you can't. "
I bit a chunk of chocolate and found it sweet,
And I listened to the trucking on Frankfort Street.

Something Else Again

I was very sad, I was very solemn —
I had worked all day fooling with a column.
I got as far as this and took my verses in
To Mr. Geoffrey Parsons, who said, " Kid, you win. "
And — not that I imagine that any one'll care —
I blew that jitney on a subway fare.