Why He Failed

                I.

“The early bird gits the worm,”

     My father said to me;

I didn’t understand the term,

     I was too young, you see.

“There’s nothing succeeds like success,”

     My father said to me;

I didn’t catch his drift, I guess,

     I was too young you see.

                 II.

“Fain’t heart ne’er won fair lady yet,”

     My sweetheart said to me;

The sense of it I didn’t get,

     I was too young, you see.

“I’ll be a sister to you, dear,”

     Another said to me;

I didn’t understand, I fear,

     I was so young, you see,

                 III.

“It never is too late to learn,”

     My teacher said to me;

I didn’t grasp the useful turn,

     I was too dull you see.

“Strike while the iron is hot,” young man,

     My boss he said to me.

But I wound up where I began,

     I was a fool, you see.

May 29, ‘09