Page:Anthology of Magazine Verse (1921).djvu/121
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If he were old and quite infirm,
His house was very fresh and young,
And envy is a winding worm—
These thoughts were pepper to his tongue.
His house was very fresh and young,
And envy is a winding worm—
These thoughts were pepper to his tongue.
And so he watched it grow and grow,
And jotted down the things he heard,
Scheming to balance by the blow
His house should deal as final word.
And jotted down the things he heard,
Scheming to balance by the blow
His house should deal as final word.
To crown the whole and go beyond
Whatever yet had been attempted.
In his small town, he signed a bond
Which would most certainly have emptied
Whatever yet had been attempted.
In his small town, he signed a bond
Which would most certainly have emptied
The pockets of quite half his friends,
Even to him it was a point,
But when a man aims at such ends
He must keep stiff in every joint.
Even to him it was a point,
But when a man aims at such ends
He must keep stiff in every joint.
He bought a quarry's good half year
Of first-class, fine-grained marble output,
He paid a mason very near
As much again to have it cut.
Of first-class, fine-grained marble output,
He paid a mason very near
As much again to have it cut.
The sharp white polished steps were grand
Descending from the stucco porch.
They glittered like a marching band,
They mounted upward like a torch.
Descending from the stucco porch.
They glittered like a marching band,
They mounted upward like a torch.
But he had taken to his bed
Before the last was set in place,
And one week later he was dead
With a slow smile upon his face.
Before the last was set in place,
And one week later he was dead
With a slow smile upon his face.
The marble flashed beneath the fall
Of undertakers' feet who carried
His coffin to the funeral
Within the house. And there he tarried
Of undertakers' feet who carried
His coffin to the funeral
Within the house. And there he tarried
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