This yellowed paper from The Box contained a poem by an unknown member of the family. From the Greta Garbo and Joe E. Brown references it seems safe to guess it is from the 1930's. It has a wonderful bittersweet tone, a paean to lost youth.
I run all day
& sleep all night
Upon my new soft bed
& believe it or not its very true
My mouth is larger than my head
In the Spring a young man’s fancy
Rightly turns to love and beer
& he takes his girl to the picture house
To see the show that’s here
They weep with G Garbo
& laugh at old Joe Brown
& then go home and save their dimes
Until another comes to town
I often long for those happy days
When I was a simple child
& all the men seemed brave and good
& the women fair and mild
But now with all the faults I see
There no such happiness for me
Was this the classroom assignment of a student or the earnest effort of a young man scribbling verses at his old oak desk by candlelight?
Either way, it delights, and reveals more of the qualities that make these vernacular letters so special.
Enjoy!
william
It's interesting the flotsam of life that we collect along the way. What was clear to the original possessor is now enigmatic to us. In talking about art, I saw a recent e-mail that said "It was my way of being rich without having money." Perhaps that is also what these letters represent.
Posted by: Janet M | January 26, 2011 at 10:39 AM
This is a deep poem (and sad) .
I think that It's about the loss of innocence.
The part that says:
But now with all the faults I see
There no such happiness for me
reminds me of what I felt when I stopped idealizing the adults around me at age 12 more or less. Before that I thought that adults were all right and children were all wrong. Now that I am an adult I realize that it's pretty much the other way around.
Posted by: Elsita | January 26, 2011 at 03:26 PM
sad poem. I love the last part.
I agree with Elsa.
Posted by: Alex Mora | January 26, 2011 at 08:59 PM
Despite our losses and mistakes, we have to move on, or else we will forever be stuck in the past and in pain.
Posted by: Quotes About Happiness | June 06, 2011 at 08:50 PM