The Marmoset

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22540, 3 October 1936, Page 8 (Supplement)

The Marmoset

(HAPALINOE ANTHROPOID APE) Try as 1 can 1 can't efface The pathos of its little face. This is the tale, as I Was told, A little tale that I'd fain forget; How a lad in a liner's engine room Bought for a song, a Marmoset. And Curacao it knew no more, The little ape in its arboret, For the sailor gathered it to his heart And sailed away with his Marmoset. It travelled with him over leagues of sea, A thing to caress, a toy, a pet, And nestled into his arms by night, And lived for him only—this Marmoset. But a sad Jay came when he left the sea, His heart was heavy with deep regret, As he handed her into his mother's care, And hastened away from his loved "Babette." Oh, restless the eyes that pucker and peer, Eyes that one could declare are wet. Restless the feet that patter and pace, Telling full oft of the inward fret. Tiny the hands that caress and fold A grimy rag that is "his" no more; A bit of waste from the engine room "Babette" had seized from his cabin floor. And "this" is her solace through the days, Loyal little heart that will never forget. She listens and waits—ah, the waiting's long— Till he comes to claim her—his Marmoset. —Ruthyn.