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1866–1932

SPREAD OUT.

Edmund Vance Cooke

In politics I'm a — never mind, And you are a — I do n't care, But, anyway, I am rather inclined To suspect we are both unfair;

For I have called you a coward and slave And you have dubbed me a fool and knave. ( Yet, perhaps I was right, for you surely abused The right of free speech in the names you used! )

In business you figure — a profit, I guess, And I charge you — as much as I dare, And I grumble that you ought to do it for less, And you ask if my price is fair.

But if I sold your goods and you sold mine, I doubt if the prices would much decline. ( Though I must insist that I think I see Where you'd still have a little advantage of me! )

In religion you are a — who cares what? And I am a — what's the odds? So why have I sneered at your holiest thought, And why have you jeered at my gods?

For, thinking it over, I'm sure we two Were doing the best that we honestly knew. ( Though, of course, I cannot escape a touch Of suspicion that you never knew too much! )

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SPREAD OUT. · Edmund Vance Cooke · Poetry Cove