Verse Old and New.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLVIII, Issue 7, 14 August 1912, Page 71

Verse Old and New.

The Fire of Love. IT leaps, it whirls, it dances, It riots, seethes and swings, But, oh, the magie music Of 'the melody it sings! It wavers, flies, and rises. It kills both hope and aim; But, oh, the utter yearning For its mad, enticing flame! It burns, it sears, it scorches, It waves, now 'high, now low; But, oh, the .sulbtle summons Of its golden, golden flow! It shines, it writhes, it glitters, It blasts, it wounds, it slays. But, oh, the hunger, 'hunger, For the glory of its blaze! —Leolyn Louise Everett. ® ® ® Taken In. Now the horny-handed farmer Calls his house a “bungalow,” Or rechristens it a “villa,” For the farmer isn’t slow; Turns his barn into a “garage,” Calls his place “The Mountain View” Or some other rustic title That sounds pretty good to you. Now the farmer trims his whiskers, And puts on some fancy clothes, And his wife, too, is resplendent In her dresses, hats, and bows. He puts, canned goods in the cellar, Thinks it isn’t any harm If he works them through the season As “fresh gathered from the farm.” AH the rooms have been re-papered, And some fuzzy-wuzzy stuff Has ‘ been "poked into bed ticking So’s to show a little puff, There are also new wash basins, Some of stoneware, some of tin, And a sign down on the gate post Reading “Boarders Taken In.” ’ t —lrene P. MeKeehan.

Castles in the Air. The bonnie, bonnie bairn, who sits poking in the use, Glowering in the fire with his wee round ■face; Laughing at the fuffin’ lowe, what sees he there? I fa! the young dreamer's bigging castles in the air. His -wee chubby face and his touzie curly pow, Are laughing and nodding to the dancing lowe; He'll brown his rosy cheeks, and singe bis sunny hair, Glowering at the imps wi’ their castles in the air. He sees muckle castles towering to the moon! He sees little sojers pu’ing them a’ doun! Worlds whombling up and down, bleezing wi’ a flare, See how he loops! as they glimmer in the air. For a’ sac sage he looks, what can the laddie ken? He’s thinking upon nacthing, like niony mighty men, A wee thing makes us think, a sma’ thing makes us stare, There are mair folk than him bigging castles in the air. Sie a night in winter may weed mak him canid; His chin upon his huffy hand will soon mak him auld; His brow is brent sae braid, oh, pray that daddy Care Would let the wean alane wi’ his castles in the air, lie’ll glower at the fire!, and he'll keek at the light! But mony sparkling stars are swallowed up by night; Aulder een than his are glamoured by a glare, Hearts are broken, heads are turn’d, wi’ castles in the air. —James Ballant vne.

Immune. He laughed will glee; and said, said he, ~ “I care not; no, not I. The price of beef brings me no grief, Let it go to the sky; And butter may go all the way To sixty cents a pound, While folk may beg to get an egg, Serene I shall In? found. "Were folk like me you’d quickly see Food prices take a fall, For trusts so bold, with goods unsold, •Would soon begin to crawl. They’d make a flop ami rates would drop Be as cheap as cheap could be; The way to bust each wieked trust Is to become like me. “1 do not. care for food that’s rare, Care not for food that’s plain; Why, its mere sight upsets me quite, To taste it gives me pain. 'What do I eat? I simply heat ' Some water in a pan Ami melt in- it a gluten grit;, I’ve got dyspepsia, man.” © © ® When the Last Plate G.ass Has Been Brohen. (With apologies to Rudyard Kipling.) \\ hen the last plate glass has been broken, and the last loose stone has been shied, And our staunchest antagonist vanquished, ami all votes to an apronstring tied, We shall rest, and, faith, we shall need it —sit down for a minute or two Until we can gather our senses and find something startling to do. And those who were clubbed shall Im happy; they shall sit in a golden chair, And tell to their less favoured sisters how they fought the policemen for fair. 'They shall talk of their deeds of valour ami record them in history’s book, While the dethroned lords of creation are trying to learn how to cook. Mary Dann in “Judge.”

According to rive Proverb. “Early to bed ami early to rise” Weis a -aying be .never forgot; He wished to be'healthy and wealthy and wise, But, to tell you the truth, he was not. He always wav, careful to look ere he leaped, And he always thought twice ere he spoke, But he never got much for the erifj's that he reaped, And few were the records he broke. He never crossed bridges before they were reachi.fi, V . His candle ne'er, binned at. both endfi; He endeavoured to practise the things that he preached-, He was careful'in choosing bis friends; He remembered the rolling stone proverb and stayed In one little spot all his life, But- his heels were run down and his trousers were frayed, And his neighlioturs all pitied his w'ife. © © © Waiting. He waited there beside the brook While minutes lengthened into hours; The branches, mingling, made a.nook, And all the fields were full of flowers. -And still the time went by apace. Ami still he' waited in that place. None came to meet an<J greet him ther.’. A robin twittered from a limb; Though still he stayed, no maiden fair Came tripping o’er the fields to him. But what eared he? His heart was light, i For he was waiting for a bite. —Walter G. Doty. © © © Laugh. A laugh must make you pretty And a cry is uglifying, Which goes to show it’s senseless To spend much thue in crying. We waste our time and money And efforts energetic. For beauty, when just laughter’s Such a safe and sane cosmetic.