Yawcob Strauss and Other Poems/Mine Shildren

by Charles Follen Adams

MINE SHILDREN.

Oh, dhose shildren, dhose shildren, dhey boddher mine life!

Vhy don'd dhey keep qviet, like Katrine, mine vife?

Vot makes dhem so shock fool off mischief, I vunder,

A-shumping der room roundt mit noises like dunderf

Hear dot! Vas dhere anyding make sooch a noise

As Yawcob und Otto, mine two leedle poys?

Ven I dake oup mine pipe for a goot qviet shmoke

Dhey crawl me all ofer, und dink id a shoke

To go droo mine bockets to see vot dhey find,

Und if mit der latch-key mine vatch dhey can vind.

Id dakes someding more as dheir fader und moder

To qviet dot Otto und his leedle broder.

Dhey shtub oudt dheir boots, und vear holes in der knees

Off dheir drousers und shtockings, und sooch dings as dhese.

I dink if dot Crœsus vas lifing to-day,:

Dhose poys make more bills as dot Kaiser could pay;

I find me qvick oudt dot some riches dake vings,

Ven each gouple a tays I must buy dhem new dings.

I pring dhose two shafers some toys efry tay.

Pecause "Shonny Schwartz has sooch nice dings," dhey say,

"Und Shonny Schwartz' barents vas poorer as ve"-

Dot's vot der young rashkells vas saying to me.

Dot oldt Santa Klaus, mit a shleigh fool off toys,

Don'd gif sadisfactious to dhose greedy poys.

Dhey kick der clothes off vhen ashleep in dheir ped,

Und get so mooch croup dot dhey almosdt vas dead;

Budt id don'd made no tifferent: before id vas light

Dhey vas onp in der morning mit pillows to fight;

I dink id was beddher you don'd got some ears

Vhen dhey blay " Holdt der Fort," und dhen gif dree cheers.

Oh, dhose shildren, dhose shildren, dhey boddher mine life!—

But shtop shust a leedle. If Katrine, mine vife,

Und dhose leedle shildren, dhey don'd been around,

Und all droo der house dhere vas neffer a sound—

Vell, poys, vhy you look oup dot vay mit surbrise?

I guess dhey see tears in dheir old fader's eyes.