The Model Old Couple - A poem by Sol Miller

The Model Old Couple.

There never was a wedded pair
That equaled Dad and Mam;
In harvesting he capped the sheaf,
In spanking she took the palm.

She used to scour the pots and pans,
While he would scour the hills;
She footed all the stockings,
And he footed all the bills.

No vices marred his perfect health,
Or made his eyes grow dim;
The filthy weed that others chewed,
It was eschewed by him.

He never loafed about the town,
In wrangle or dispute;
And when he wished to go ahead,
He often went afoot.

The dumb and helpless beasts of toil
Received his kindest care;
Of nights he'd shed his cattle, and
The cattle shed their hair

He said: "This little rule I find,
Will win, and seldom lose;
My P's and Q's I always mind,
And also mind my ewes."

Said he: "Each day I never fail
To thank the Lord anew;
He gives to us His rain, and we
Should give to Him His due."

With love towards her little flock
Her heart would overflow;
And when the children needed bread
She always kneaded dough.

If any scandal reached her ears,
While busy with her yarn,
She said she didn't give a snap^__
And then she gave a darn.

Said she: "My neighbors' little sins
Do not my spirit vex;
In other eyes I see no beam
If mine are without specs."

Some said her dairy was her god^__
But who our hearts can tell?
If work to worship is akin,
She loved her cheeses well.

At last when this contented pair
Had old and feeble grown,
Pa sat him down and made his will,^__
She had one of her own.

^__Sol Miller.