From Rude Rural Rhymes by Bob Adams, New York: The Macmillan Company; 1925; pp. 174-175.
THE MELANCHOLY DAYS.
The melancholy days have come —
I’ll say they’re melancholy
In that dame’s house whose worthless spouse
Provides green wood, by golly.
Just such a cuss is neighbor Jim;
It is not lack of time with him,
But mostly laziness and whim.
Oft on the bench which stands before
The well-known village general store.
So ordered as to balance best,
He brings his loose-hung frame to rest,
And there instead of sawing wood
He gives advice for Coolidge’s good.
O on the hills and on the mountains,
By busy brooks and fizzy fountains,
A lot of pines, a bunch of oaks,
Await our rough and ready strokes,
And all are crammed, both trunk and limb,
With exercise for me and Jim.
Let’s chop them up for Kate and Prue,
Then dry them out a year or two.
For it it were my lot in life
To cut the kindling as Jim’s wife
[175]
I often think that I would pick
An extra knobby, gnarly stick.
Then softly seek that loafer’s frame
Intent to bean him with the same.