Dining Out

“O, no, I don’t use sugar, please,

     It hurts me, so the doctors say;

And butter is so fattening,

     I mustn’t use it anyway.

Hot biscuits? O, thank you, no,

     My stomach is not strong, you see;

And cake? O, my, I must refuse,

     You know it never did agree.”

“That lamb, ah, me! It does look good,

     But doctor says I oughtn’t to;

And pie? O, my, home-made I see,

     But it would never, never do.

O, well, perhaps, then, just this once,

     I’ll try them all, though I shall pay.”

And this good woman, bless her soul,

     Goes through this rigmarole each day.

Oct. 16. ‘09