Yawcob Strauss and Other Poems/Mine Shildren
MINE SHILDREN.
- Oh, dhose shildren, dhose shildren, dhey boddher mine life!
- Vhy don'd dhey keep qviet, like Katrine, mine vife?
- Vot makes dhem so shock fool off mischief, I vunder,
- A-shumping der room roundt mit noises like dunderf
- Hear dot! Vas dhere anyding make sooch a noise
- As Yawcob und Otto, mine two leedle poys?
- Ven I dake oup mine pipe for a goot qviet shmoke
- Dhey crawl me all ofer, und dink id a shoke
- To go droo mine bockets to see vot dhey find,
- Und if mit der latch-key mine vatch dhey can vind.
- Id dakes someding more as dheir fader und moder
- To qviet dot Otto und his leedle broder.
- Dhey shtub oudt dheir boots, und vear holes in der knees
- Off dheir drousers und shtockings, und sooch dings as dhese.
- I dink if dot Crœsus vas lifing to-day,:
- Dhose poys make more bills as dot Kaiser could pay;
- I find me qvick oudt dot some riches dake vings,
- Ven each gouple a tays I must buy dhem new dings.
- I pring dhose two shafers some toys efry tay.
- Pecause "Shonny Schwartz has sooch nice dings," dhey say,
- "Und Shonny Schwartz' barents vas poorer as ve"-
- Dot's vot der young rashkells vas saying to me.
- Dot oldt Santa Klaus, mit a shleigh fool off toys,
- Don'd gif sadisfactious to dhose greedy poys.
- Dhey kick der clothes off vhen ashleep in dheir ped,
- Und get so mooch croup dot dhey almosdt vas dead;
- Budt id don'd made no tifferent: before id vas light
- Dhey vas onp in der morning mit pillows to fight;
- I dink id was beddher you don'd got some ears
- Vhen dhey blay " Holdt der Fort," und dhen gif dree cheers.
- Oh, dhose shildren, dhose shildren, dhey boddher mine life!—
- But shtop shust a leedle. If Katrine, mine vife,
- Und dhose leedle shildren, dhey don'd been around,
- Und all droo der house dhere vas neffer a sound—
- Vell, poys, vhy you look oup dot vay mit surbrise?
- I guess dhey see tears in dheir old fader's eyes.