The Poetry Corner

Longings.

By George W. Doneghy

I. Gim me back my stone-bruised heel, And them tow-linen pants, An' that old pole an' line an' reel, An' all them boyhood ha'nts, An' that old hat I used to wear, That didn't hav' no crown, An' that same crop uv yeller hair-- Sun-burnt on top ter brown-- An' them playmates I used ter know, An' loved like very brothers-- An' you kin let the old world go An' giv' its wealth ter others! II. Gim me back one gallus, too, That buttoned with a peg, An' them blamed ticks that burrowed through The skin uv either leg, An' that old single-barrel gun, As crooked as a rail, An' that same dog that used ter run The molly cotton-tail, An' lem me hav' the tops I spun-- The kites that I hav' sailed-- An' then at last, when life is done, Who'd keer if it had failed?