The Battle of 1908

If you see a man or woman,

     With an axe rush through the house;

If you see them with a pistol

     Creeping quiet as a mouse;

If you see the servants skulking

     Round with murder in their eyes,

Do not run to get the policemen,

     They are merely after flies.

If you see the State Militia,

     Charging up a narrow street;

If you see a big policeman

     Leave his customary beat;

If you see the fire department

     Turning streams into the skies,

Do not think that Mars is burning,

     They are merely fighting flies.

May 19, ‘09