Townsend Harris High School - Crimson Gold Yearbook (Flushing, NY)

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The Old Man told hrm of hrs part rn the hrstory of the Poets brref crusade He looked krnd of upset the Old Man contrnued when he left me I rather lrke the Poet and so I thought I had better keep my eye on hrm He walked down the bank here qurte a way and I lost srght of hrm When I caught up wrth hrm agarn he was bobbrng around rn the rrver out there He looked lrke he couldn t swrm so I got a pole and lished hrm out He was a sorry mess drrpprng all over and sneezrng r e The poor fellow broke rn the Peasant He has made a pretty mess of thrngs He could have made out well too rn the advertrsrng game People draw down good sal atres there Sure assented the Old Man You know Glrbber dont you? Well he draws 700 guldens a week wrrtrng for the hydrant people No use talkrng commented the other He can t do a man s job He rs just lrke a chrld that just won t grow up Many trmes Ive seen chrl dren playrng wrth mud prles For the chrld that drrty chunk of mud be comes now a dragon now a horse now a beautrful mansron That s cute rn chrldren but for a grown man Well remarked the Gld Man I suppose there rs somethrng rn t at If you need me call me sard the other Sayrng that he marched off The Old Man watched the Peasant untrl the latter went out of srght Then he re entered the room The Poet was awake and mutterrng Whereupon the Old Man reached for the medrcrne bottle and the brtter greenrsh lrqurd stopped for a trme the ramblrngs of the Poet Suddenly the Poet sat uprrght rn e Hes blrndl he crred Who? exclarmed the startled Old Man dropprng a plate He cannot see beyond hrs nose The Peasant? Well I don t Always hrs ears are closed to the call of beauty hrs eyes blrnd to the welcome of nature Once I showed water there He saw mrnd you nothrng but water and mud Thank ful am I that I am as I am Sayrng that he fell back exhausted The Old Man felt hrs pulse cov ered hrm gently and then walked out to the doorstep The nrght had by then fallen and a deep calm had descended upon the earth The numberless stars twmkled back at the Old Man as he lrfted hrs eyes to the heavens A beautrful nrght he sard to hrmself Then seatrng hrmself on the doorstep he began to fill hrs 1 e I guess he sard slowly t at I can see what the Poet means There rs somethrng rn all thrs that creeps rn under one s skrn Well I guess he contrnued wrth ' 7 7 7 7 ' 7 7 . ' b d , . . , . . , . . 1 1 I 11 . 1, , . n it Y' ' 1 He. 11 ' I Y! 1 YI . , .......... 7 7 - n 3 . .. ,, hrm the many colored hues rn the 5 ' - rx ' ' . , , 7 ' ' 7 ry ' . . n . , . gy ' YY 9 ' - il ! Y ' 7 . . . . . , , ' 7 a 3 ' 1 1 . YY , .....,. . rr yv H ' ' ' 7 7 7 tt f u 1 ' ' ' ' 9 rx ' h . , .. H - PP - 7 7 If Y! ' K! h' , 7 9 , . ' Y ' Y! . l Y! Y! ' ' ' 1 1 Page Fzfty-:ix

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A burning sense of failure gnawed him from within. Vague but pointed memories of the countless jibes and the contemptuous snickerings at him and his ideas welled to the surface of his consciousness He reached the river He stopped and his mind began to play with the fancy that the key to existence might be found at the end of the River of Life And so dressed in light summer clothing he stepped into icy water wading at first and then Going deeper Time passed The Peasant his body swinging in rhythm to a gav tune he had learned in the city trod the same path that a few nights be fore had witnessed the brief crusade of the Poet Reaching his own hut, he was not a little surprised to see the Old Man hanging some of the Poets clothes on a string outside of the latters house He was no less surprised to see the Old Man turn and enter the Poet s hut Now what can he be around for? He walked to his neighbor s door and with one husky push sent its crazy hinges creaking and crying in up roarious dissent to such harsh treat ment He stepped into the familiar room and saw, much to his amaze ment, the Poet, lean and deathly pale, lying in bed The Old Man rose to meet him He proferred his hand to the Peasant and, upon its being accepted, intro duced himself The ceremony being completed, they both advanced to the bed and stared at the Poet The Poet stirred uneasily The Old Man lifted a brimming bowl of oatmeal from a low chair near the bed. He stirred it carefully, and then slowly, as a mother would feed her child, he lifted a spoonful of food to his patients mouth, urging him to eat So sweet murmured the Poet almost inaudibly, as he tasted the Suddenly the moon crept from out the shadow of a cloud nrst spoonful So sweet for a mere stranger to help another in distress Did I put too much sugar in it? asked the Old Man Sugar s dear this year, inter posed the Peasant Then seeing that the Poet had fallen asleep ust what s the matter with him? Pneumonia Did you get a doctor? Not at first He wanted to go back to nature He did He got some herbs mashed them, and swal lowed the mess That made him sicker How did you enter into this affair? . I , . . . O A I ' ,. ,H 3 . . . 7 7 g . a: af wk ' 1 7 , f U exclaimed the astonished Peasant. SO Sweet - - . , J - 7 - Page Fifty :iw

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a lrttle laugh Im becomrng a krnd of poet myself Yet that fellow the Peasant speaks sound common sense too Bus1ness IS not guldens only There IS a romance and a joy and a beauty rn makrng nature your slave tarns and conquerrng seas Well I don t know It 1S not easy to Judge He became pensrve Fznzr Suddenly the moon crept from out the shadow of a cloud and sent a glorrous beam down upon the shad ow of the lrttle hut The Old Man leaped to h1s feet and searched the skres Please God he sard let me be as blrnd as nerther but let me have the eyes of both ' 7 ' 9 3 I I ' 7 3 There is a thrill in leveling moun- H H , H ' ' s y 7 . , s a y . . l .,, 7 Page Fifty-:eve