To the Lady in the Electric
Lady in the show case carriage,
Do not think that I’m a bear;
Not for worlds would I disparage
One so gracious and so fair;
Do not think that I am blind to
One who has a smile seraphic;
You I’d never be unkind to,
But you are impeding traffic.
If I had some way of knowing
What you are about to do,
Just exactly where you’re going,
If I could depend on you,
I could keep my engine churning,
Travel on and never mind you.
Lady, when you think of turning,
Why not signal us behind you?
Lady, free from care and worry,
Riding in your plate-glass car,
Some of us are in a hurry;
Some of us must travel far.
I, myself, am eager, very,
To be journeying on my way;
Lady, is it necessary
To monopolize the highway?
Lady, at the handle, steering,
Why not keep a course that’s straight?
Know you not that wildly veering
As you do, is tempting fate?
Do not think my horn I’m blowing
Just on purpose to harass you,
It is just a signal showing
That I’d safely like to pass you.
Lady, there are times a duty
Must be done, however saddening;
It is hard to tell a beauty
That she’s very often maddening.
And I would not now be saying
Harsh and cruel words to fuss you,
But when traffic you’re delaying
You are forcing men to cuss you.
Other works by Edgar Albert Guest...
