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Edited Poetry

Edited Poetry image
Parent Issue
Day
15
Month
June
Year
1883
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Texas Siftings. Probably no class of men are throvrn into more intímate relations with poets than cditors of' newspapers. A handmade patent poet oame into this oflico recently, and he had bis manuscript with him. " He cleared his bronchial tubes, threw on a few trémulo, ilute, vox harmonica and other stops, and commeneed: "Under the willows amaiden fair, Was braiding wealth of yellow hair." "That won't jibo with the tone of thia paper," we said sharply. "It won't?" inquired the poet in a tone of surprised suddenness. "Why, no. Don't you realizo that this journal isn't a second-hand music box? The rhythm is all right enough. but you don't seem to catch on to the true ring. Don't you think this would bc better? "Down in the kitehen a malden fair, Out of the hash was pieking a hair." "Well, possibly, the way you put it," said the poet, shifting uneasily in his ohair. "Why, of course it would. Give us the next stanza." "Shc thought of the flowers, the stars abore. And then ene thought of the power of lOTe." "Oh, she did, eh? Well, we shall have to get you to fix that up this way: "While thinking of Mike, who was oft beside her. 3he tnrned around and 6tepped in the spider.' The poor poet wiped away a tear. He saw at once that, with our stiong, practical common sonse views of hfe, we bad him on the hip: and he couldn't help himsclf cither. "Warble the next stanza," we said curtly. "Breathing hard, liko a pacing horso just in from a mile heat, the poor wretched poet proceeded: "The wind carne up from the Runny soutb, And kissed the malden on check and mouth." "That verse will do well enough if you'll only make one litüe ohange in it." "What is it?" inquired the perspiring poet, brightcning upa trille, andexhibiting a little more anirnation. 'Say you mako it read this way: "She grabbed it up with a surly grow-cl, And wiped it out with a Turkieh towel." "That is quito a little change," said the depressed poet. "Do you think it would improve it?" "Certainly. Swing in with the next carmen." 'The maiden rose from her rustic seat, And silently passed through the lonely street." "That's the close," he said timidly, and with a longsigli of relief. "O, that's the close, isit? All right. Well, you will find we are right along with you. Just alter that this way: "Down on the girl the housewife bore, And fired her through the kilchen door." "Now, you sec, with the aid of the few minor suggestions which we havo made, you can trim that thing of yours into some respectable kind of shape. Besides that, you have got a poem which . yoli can split - a kind of doublé barreled poem- and sell half to one paper and the other half to another." The poet exhibited no little alacrity in preparing to tako his departure.

Article

Subjects
Ann Arbor Courier
Old News