But we must take you all in all,
And so I hear with pain
That probably we shall not look
Upon your like again.
I could have spared a buffalo
Or elephant with ease,
An armadillo, or a bear,
A dozen chimpanzees.
When _Jumbo_ left for foreign skies,
I did not shed a tear,
For though his _Alice_ mourned his loss,
I knew that _you_ were here.
You've gone to heaven, if that's where
The good giraffes all go.
I wonder if you'll ever see
What happens down below.
I hope, for your own comfort, not,
But, if you ever do,
Please recognise me as the Man
Who sadly haunts the Zoo.
* * * * *
THE POET AND THE SONGS.
[Illustration]
I HAD a thought, a dainty thought,
A quaint and cunning fancy,
I said, "A theme with humour fraught
Within my grasp I can see.
This thought will work into a set
Of verses fit for singing."
A voice rasped, "Oh, a deal o' wet!"
And off that thought went winging.
And once again that thought returned,
With yet more brightness on it--
This time with the desire I burned
To weave it in a sonnet.
I'd get an artist chum to do
The subject in a rare cut.
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