I LIKE the Chinese laundryman: He smokes a pipe that bubbles, And seems, as far as I can tell, A man with but few troubles. He has much to do, no doubt, But also much to think about. Most men (for instance I myself) Are spending, at all times, All our hard-earned quarters, Our nickels and our dimes: With Mar Quong it's the other way -- He takes in small change every day. Next time you call for collars In his steamy little shop, Observe how tight his pigtail Is coiled and piled on top. But late at night he lets it hang And thinks of the Yang-tse-kiang. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE VICTOR AT ANTIETAM [SEPTEMBER 17, 1862] by HERMAN MELVILLE THE HOUSE OF LIFE: 83. BARREN SPRING by DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI IDYLLS OF THE KING: GUINEVERE by ALFRED TENNYSON LIKE A SICK CHILD by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING |