[net.poems] If I Only was the Fellow

mj (12/23/82)

#N:pur-ee:14100005:000:816
pur-ee!mj    Dec 22 14:15:00 1982



			If I Only Was the Fellow

		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 only I 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.

					Will S. Adkin