The Shoemaker.

    Thou Poet, who, like any lark,
        Dost whet thy beak and trill
    From misty morn till murky dark,
        Nor ever pipe thy fill:
    Hast thou not, in thy cheery note,
        One poor chirp to confer -
    One verseful twitter to devote
        Unto the Shoe-ma-ker?

    At early dawn he doth peg in
        His noble work and brave;
    And eke from cark and wordly sin
        He seeketh soles to save;
    And all day long, with quip and song,
        Thus stitcheth he the way
    Our feet may know the right from wrong,
        Nor ever go a stray.

    Soak kip in mind the Shoe-ma-ker,
        Nor slight his lasting fame:
    Alway he waxeth tenderer
        In warmth of our acclaim; -
    Aye, more than any artisan
        We glory in his art
    Who ne'er, to help the under man,
        Neglects the upper part.

    But toe the mark for him, and heel
        Respond to thee in kine -
    Or kid - or calf, shouldst thou reveal
        A taste so superfine:
    Thus let him jest - join in his laugh -
        Draw on his stock, and be
    A shoer'd there's no rival half
        Sole liberal as he.

    Then, Poet, hail the Shoe-ma-ker
        For all his goodly deeds, -
    Yea, bless him free for booting thee -
        The first of all thy needs!
    And when at last his eyes grow dim,
        And nerveless drops his clamp,
    In golden shoon pray think of him
        Upon his latest tramp.