WHILE WALKING down a crowded City street the other day, I heard a little urchin To a comrade turn and say, "Say, Chimmey, lemme tell youse, I'd be happy as a clam If I only was de feller dat Me mudder t'inks I am. "She t'inks I am a wonder, An' she knows her little lad Could never mix wit' nuttin' Dat was ugly, mean or bad. Oh, lot o' times I sit and t'ink How nice, 'twould be, gee whiz! If a feller was de feller Dat his mudder t'inks he is." My friends, be yours a life of toil Or undiluted joy, You can learn a wholesome lesson From that small, untutored boy. Don't aim to be an earthly saint, With eyes fixed on a star: Just try to be the fellow that Your mother thinks you are. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...WHEN MY SHIP COMES IN by ROBERT JONES BURDETTE SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY: ANNE RUTLEDGE by EDGAR LEE MASTERS A PRAYER FOR THE NEW YEAR by LAURA F. ARMITAGE THE IVY; ADDRESSED TO A YOUNG FRIEND by BERNARD BARTON |