I SAT on the bank above Bernadotte And dropped crumbs in the water, Just to see the minnows bump each other, Until the strongest got the prize. Or I went to my little pasture, Where the peaceful swine were asleep in the wallow, Or nosing each other lovingly, And emptied a basket of yellow corn, And watched them push and squeal and bite, And trample each other to get the corn. And I saw how Christian Dallman's farm, Of more than three thousand acres, Swallowed the patch of Felix Schmidt, As a bass will swallow a minnow And I say if there's anything in man -- Spirit, or conscience, or breath of God That makes him different from fishes or hogs, I'd like to see it work! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...WHISPERS OF IMMORTALITY by THOMAS STEARNS ELIOT THE LOCKLESS DOOR by ROBERT FROST LAST DAYS OF QUEEN ELIZABETH by EDWARD GEORGE EARLE LYTTON BULWER-LYTTON THE VIRGIN MARTYR by ADA CAMBRIDGE REFLECTIONS ON MY OWN SITUATION, WRITTEN IN T-TT-NGST-NE HOUSE by ANN CANDLER |