The Little Man

A little man dwelt in a little town
A little over twenty years ago:
He gained a little portion of renown
Within the little crowd he used to know.
He wed a little maid when he was twenty-one,
And later on they had a little son.

This little man had little to regret
He had little patience with the weak,
When others fell his eyes were never wet,
With sinners he had but little time to speak,
Instead he went to church a little late,
And dropped a little nickel in a little plate.

He drank a little coffee now and then,
But little stronger liquor passed his lips;
He mingled little with Bohemian men:
Life’s wine he drank in stingy little sips.
When strangers came to him for food and bed,
With little pain he shook his little head.

He made a little fortune rapidly,
By grinding labor out of little arms,
And by foreclosing a variety
Of little mortgages on little farms.
He died--and ‘neath the weeping willow bough
A little worm is working on him now.

--Anonymous