Longings
I.
Gim me back my stone-bruised heel,
And them tow-linen pants,
An’ that old pole an’ line an’ reel,
An’ all them boyhood ha’nts,
An’ that old hat I used to wear,
That didn’t hav’ no crown,
An’ that same crop uv yeller hair—
Sun-burnt on top ter brown—
An’ them playmates I used ter know,
An’ loved like very brothers—
An’ you kin let the old world go
An’ giv’ its wealth ter others!
II.
Gim me back one gallus, too,
That buttoned with a peg,
An’ them blamed ticks that burrowed through
The skin uv either leg,
An’ that old single-barrel gun,
As crooked as a rail,
An’ that same dog that used ter run
The molly cotton-tail,
An’ lem me hav’ the tops I spun—
The kites that I hav’ sailed—
An’ then at last, when life is done,
Who’d keer if it had failed?