THE HOUSE THAT CRACK BUILT by Felix Dennis

The House That Crack Built

By Felix Dennis

This is the pipe

That lay in the house that crack built.

This is the puff,

That filled the pipe

That lay in the house that crack built.

This is the stuff,

That would not puff,

That filled the pipe

That lay in the house that crack built.

This is the sod,

That sold the stuff,

That would not puff,

That filled the pipe

That lay in the house that crack built.

This is the gun with the barrel sawn,

That shot the sod,

That sold the stuff,

That would not puff,

That filled the pipe

That lay in the house that crack built.

This is the room with the curtains drawn

That hid the gun with the barrel sawn,

That shot the sod,

That sold the stuff,

That would not puff,

That filled the pipe

That lay in the house that crack built.

This is the man who slept at dawn,

That lived in the room with the curtains drawn,

That sold the gun with the barrel sawn,

That shot the sod,

That sold the stuff,

That would not puff,

That filled the pipe

That lay in the house that crack built.

This is the frock all tattered and torn,

That kept the man who slept at dawn,

That lived in the room with the curtains drawn,

That sold the gun with the barrel sawn,

That shot the sod,

That sold the stuff,

That would not puff,

That filled the pipe

That lay in the house that crack built.

This is the maiden all forlorn,

That wore the frock all tattered and torn,

That kept the man who slept at dawn,

That lived in the room with the curtains drawn,

That sold the gun with the barrel sawn,

That shot the sod,

That sold the stuff,

That would not puff,

That filled the pipe

That lay in the house that crack built.

This is the babe that never was born,

That died in the womb of a maid forlorn,

That wore the frock all tattered and torn,

That kept the man who slept at dawn,

That lived in the room with the curtains drawn,

That sold the gun with the barrel sawn,

That shot the sod,

That sold the stuff,

That would not puff,

That filled the pipe

That lay in the house that crack built.

I bargained with life for a penny

I bargained with life for a penny
And life would pay no more
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty store

For life is just an employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.

I worked for a menial’s hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have willingly paid.

-unknown

What I Live For - by George Linneaus Banks

I live for those who love me,
Whose hearts are kind and true,
For heaven that smiles above me,
And waits my spirit, too;
For all the ties that bind me,
For all the tasks assigned me.
And bright hopes left behind me,
And good that I can do.

I live to learn their story
Who've suffered for my sake,
To emulate their glory,
And follow in their wake;
Bards, patriots, martyrs, sages,
The noble of all ages,
Whose deeds crown history's pages,
And Time's great volume make.

I live to hold communion
With all that is divine,
To feel there is a union
'Twixt Nature's heart and mine;
To profit by affliction,
Reap truths from fields of fiction,
And, wiser from conviction,
Fulfil each grand design.

I live to hail that season,
By gifted minds foretold,
When men shall rule by reason,
And not alone by gold;
When man to man united,
And every wrong thing righted,
The whole world shall be lighted
As Eden was of old.

I live for those who love me,
Whose hearts are kind and true,
For heaven that smiles above me,
And waits my spirit too;
For the cause that lacks assistance,
For the wrong that needs resistance,
For the future in the distance,
And the good that I can do.