| |
| TO put new shingles on old roofs; | |
| To give old women wadded skirts; | |
| To treat premonitory coughs | |
| With seasonable flannel shirts; | |
| To soothe the stings of poverty | 5 |
| And keep the jackal from the door,— | |
| These are the works that occupy | |
| The Little Sister of the Poor. | |
| |
| She carries, everywhere she goes, | |
| Kind words and chickens, jams and coals; | 10 |
| Poultices for corporeal woes, | |
| And sympathy for downcast souls: | |
| Her currant jelly, her quinine, | |
| The lips of fever move to bless; | |
| She makes the humble sick-room shine | 15 |
| With unaccustomed tidiness. | |
| |
| A heart of hers the instant twin | |
| And vivid counterpart is mine; | |
| I also serve my fellow-men, | |
| Though in a somewhat different line. | 20 |
| The Poor, and their concerns, she has | |
| Monopolized, because of which | |
| It falls to me to labor as | |
| A Little Brother of the Rich. | |
| |
| For their sake at no sacrifice | 25 |
| Does my devoted spirit quail; | |
| I give their horses exercise; | |
| As ballast on their yachts I sail. | |
| Upon their tallyhos I ride | |
| And brave the chances of a storm; | 30 |
| I even use my own inside | |
| To keep their wines and victuals warm. | |
| |
| Those whom we strive to benefit | |
| Dear to our hearts soon grow to be; | |
| I love my Rich, and I admit | 35 |
| That they are very good to me. | |
| Succor the Poor, my sisters,—I, | |
| While heaven shall still vouchsafe me health, | |
| Will strive to share and mollify | |
| The trials of abounding wealth. | 40 |
| |
