Spring Overture

The roosters shout at break o’ day like trumpets loud and clear,

The loving cows, like great bassoons, tell breakfast time is near;

The horses whinny in their stalls like high-pitched clarinets,

While guinea hens vamp after time like old time alto vets.

The breakfast horn sounds loud and clear, with echoes from the men,

The rattle of the pots an’ pans is heard now and again;

Then suddenly the chorus swells, a score of hens break out,

With cacklings weird and wild that put the brasses all to rout!

Now then a bluebird’s mellow strain floats from the apple tree

While robins, orioles and wrens join in the melody.

The bleat of sheep across the hills add sadness to the strain,

And grunting swine play double-bass to balance the refrain.

Now come the minor passages, the stage lights dim and low,

The marshland frogs in monotone bespeak the afterglow;

Night comes – the curtain slowly falls, the play has had its run,

The grand finale has been struck, the orchestra is done!

March 27, 1913

For Monday the 31^st