O Boy, that stood'st upon the burnin’ deck
And gotst thyself in our school readers and
The “Whoop -‘ er-up” school speakers of our land
Because thou wouldst not leave that sinkin’ wreck,
Oh, don'tst thou think if thou hadst saved thy neck
And wisely cut and run to beat the band,
Thou couldst have later done things still more grand?
Alas! too soon didst death thy valor check!
Oh, didst thou stay because thou couldst not swim?
Or wast it fame for which thy heart didst yearn?
Of course thou gotst a name time canst not dim,
But seemst to me that all I canst discern
In thy foolhardy, stickin’ - to-it whim
Is that thou deemed the world hadst boys to burn.