Bit of a priest and a bit of sailor,
Bit of a doctor and bit of a tailor,
Bit of a lawyer, and bit of detective,
Bit of a judge, for his work is corrective;
Cheering the living and soothing the dying,
Risking all things, even dare-devil flying;
True to his paper and true to his clan—
Just look him over, the newspaper man.
Sleep! There are times that he’ll do with a little,
Work till his nerves and his temper are brittle;
Fire cannot daunt him, nor long hours disturb him,
Gold cannot buy him and threats cannot curb him;
Highbrow or lowbrow, your own speech he’ll hand you,
Talk as you will to him, he’ll understand you;
He’ll go wherever another man can—
That is the way of the newspaper man.
Surgeon, if urgent the need be, you’ll find him,
Ready to help, nor will dizziness blind him;
He’ll give the ether and never once falter,
Say the last rites like a priest at the altar;
Gentle and kind with the weak and the weary,
Which is proved now and then when his keen eye grows teary;
Facing all things in life’s curious plan—
That is the way of the newspaper man.
One night a week may he rest from his labor,
One night at home to be father and neighbor;
Just a few hours for his own bit of leisure,
All the rest’s gazing at other men’s pleasure,
All the rest’s toiling, and yet he rejoices,
All the world is, and that men do, he voices—
Who knows a calling more glorious than
The day-by-day work of the newspaper man?
Other works by Edgar Albert Guest...
