From Rude Rural Rhymes by Bob Adams, New York: The Macmillan Company; 1925; pp. 135-136.
OUR SUCCESSORS
O when in country or in town
I walk with Hannah up and down,
I see some good kids and some cranky,
Some neat and some that need a hanky;
But whether full of sin or grace,
Some one of them will take my place.
Although my hair is not yet gray,
I’m getting older every day;
Although my gait no limp is showing
I’m getting nearer where I’m going.
Dear sir, though not yet old as Priam
You’re in the self-same boat as I am.
Dear madam, though your charms are plenty,
You never more will weigh one-twenty.
Full many a rural church has rusted,
And many a fair and grange has busted,
Without a jar, without a sound,
This dizzy earth goes ’round and ’round.
O never does a trip begin
But some good worker cashes in,
And never sinks a weary sun
But sees some leader’s labors done.
[136]
Some kid already in the traces
Must step on up to take their places,
And all our churches, fairs and granges
Should have young blood to meet these changes.
Else, when we sleep beneath the daisies,
The cause we love will go to blazes.
Yea, when we rest beneath our hummocks,
The good old town will go kerflummux.
So let us train the youngster dapper
And try to civilize the flapper.
O let us teach the kids life’s rules
In clubs and camps and Sunday schools,
And then sit back upon our pants
And give the younger folks a chance.