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Title: Circle Day
Author: Joseph Crosby Lincoln [
More Titles by Lincoln]
Me and Billy's in the woodshed; Ma said, "Run outdoors and play;
Be good boys and don't be both'rin', till the company's gone away."
She and sister Mary's hustlin', settin' out the things for tea,
And the parlor's full of women, such a crowd you never see;
Every one a-cuttin' patchwork or a-sewin' up a seam,
And the way their tongues is goin', seems as if they went by steam.
Me and Billy's been a-listenin' and, I tell you what, it beats
Circus day to hear 'em gabbin', when the Sewin' Circle meets.
First they almost had a squabble, fightin' 'bout the future life;
When they'd settled that they started runnin' down the parson's wife.
Then they got a-goin' roastin' all the folks there is in town,
And they never stopped, you bet yer, till they'd done 'em good and brown.
They knew everybody's business and they made it mighty free,
But the way they loved _each other_ would have done yer good to see;
Seems ter me the only way ter keep yer hist'ry off the streets
Is to be on hand a-waitin' when the Sewin' Circle meets.
Pretty quick they'll have their supper, then's the time to see the fun;
Ma'll say the rolls is _awful_, and she's 'fraid the pie ain't done.
Really everything is bully, and she knows it well enough,
But the folks that's havin' comp'ny always talks that kind of stuff.
That sets all the women goin', and they say, "How _can_ you make
Such _delicious_ pies and biscuits, and such _lovely_ choc'late cake?"
Me and Billy don't say nothin' when we pitches in and eats
Up the things there is left over when the Sewin' Circle meets.
I guess Pa do'n't like the Circle, 'cause he said ter Uncle Jim
That there cacklin' hen convention was too peppery for _him_.
And he'll say to Ma, "I'm sorry, but I've really got ter dodge
Down t' the hall right after supper--there's a meetin' at the lodge."
Ma'll say, "Yes, so I expected." Then a-speakin' kinder cold,
"Seems ter me, I'd get a new one; that excuse is gettin' old!"
Pa'll look sick, just like a feller when he finds you know he cheats,
But he do'n't stay home, you bet yer, when the Sewin' Circle meets.
[The end]
Joseph Crosby Lincoln's poem: Circle Day
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