  Looks as though a cyclone hit him— Can't buy clothes that seem to fit him; An' his cheeks are rough like leather, Made for standin' any weather. Outwards he wuz fashioned plainly, Loose o' joint an' blamed ungainly, But I'd give a lot if I'd Been prepared so fine inside. Best thing I can tell you of him Is the way the children love him. Now an' then I get to thinkin' He is much like old Abe Lincoln— Homely like a gargoyle graven, An' looks worse when he's unshaven; But I'd take his ugly phiz Jes' to have a heart like his. I ain't over-sentimental, But old Blake is so blamed gentle An' so thoughtful-like of others He reminds us of our mothers. Rough roads he is always smoothin', An' his way is, oh, so soothin' That he takes away the sting When your heart is sorrowing. "The Homely Man" From a painting by M. L. Bower. "The Homely Man" Children gather round about him Like they can't get on without him. An' the old depend upon him, Pilin' all their burdens on him, Like as though the thing that grieves 'em Has been lifted when he leaves 'em. Homely? That can't be denied. But he's glorious inside. |
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