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1849–1916

ABE MARTIN

James Whitcomb Riley

Abe Martin!— dad-burn his old picture! P'tends he's a Brown County fixture — A kind of a comical mixture Of hoss-sense and no sense at all!

His mouth, like his pipe,‘ s allus goin’, And his thoughts, like his whiskers, is flowin’, And what he do n't know ai n't wuth knowin’ — From Genesis clean to baseball!

The artist, Kin Hubbard,‘ s so keerless He draws Abe most eyeless and earless, But he's never yet pictured him cheerless Er with fun‘ at he tries to conceal,—

Whuther onto the fence er clean over A-rootin’ up ragweed er clover, Skeert stiff at some “Rambler” er “Rover” Er newfangled automobeel!

It's a purty steep climate old Brown's in; And the rains there his ducks nearly drowns in The old man hisse'f wades his rounds in As ca'm and serene, mighty nigh

As the old handsaw-hawg, er the mottled Milch cow, er the old rooster wattled Like the mumps had him‘ most so well throttled That it was a pleasure to die.

But best of‘ em all's the fool-breaks‘ at Abe do n't see at all, and yit makes‘ at Both me and you lays back and shakes at His comic, miraculous cracks

Which makes him — clean back of the power Of genius itse'f in its flower — This Notable Man of the Hour, Abe Martin, The Joker on Facts.

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ABE MARTIN · James Whitcomb Riley · Poetry Cove