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Oklahoma Suns.h.i.+ne.
by Freeman E. (Freeman Edwin) Miller.
_The Gospel of Suns.h.i.+ne is the one Supreme Evangel, the Religion of Love is Mankind's most Universal Creed. They hold in their divine Baptisms the Winning of the Heart to Happiness, the Wooing of the Soul to Heaven._
_The Author._
Beginning with June 9, 1904, there was a column of verse and prose published in "The Stillwater Advance" under the caption "Oklahoma Suns.h.i.+ne." These were written in the moments of a busy life, amid the crowding of sterner things, and many of them found a wide circulation in the fugitive publications of the day. So many persons have offered expressions of being pleased and helped by them that they are here presented in a more permanent form. The following comprise the year from June, 1904, to June, 1905.
"What Think Ye, Masters, of These Things?"
(A POEM READ ON OKLAHOMA DAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1904, AT THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE EXPOSITION.)
O, ye who frame the sovereign law, And heal the hurts of ocean isles Till hid are savage tooth and claw And Peace above the battle smiles,-- If Justice reigns and Mercy clings, What think ye, Masters, of these things?
The Father of the Waters greets Imperial sisters proud and great, And nation mighty nation meets At festal boards of lordly state: But one--one only,--maketh moan: Denied the Star, she weeps alone!
The cycles fly on eagled wings: A hundred years have run their quest Since he who bought and sold with kings An empire added to the West: And all his regions rulers are Save her alone who mourns the Star.
The wildness in a moment died; A garden bloomed and fruited full Across the plains and valleys wide At touch of hands invincible; But mute she stands where deserts were: The banner holds no Star for her!
The race heaps high its conquered spoil; The braggart heirs of all men do a.s.semble where the Triumphs toil In marshaled columns for review; And she, the Starless, at your call Brings trophies that surpa.s.s them all!
Are not her laurels rich and rare?
Her apt attainments great with grace?
You crown her here and everywhere Save where she pleads for power and place; The world amazed her praises rings: What think ye, Masters, of these things?
She wonders wrought with wondrous hands: Her cities crowd the teeming plains, And church and school exalt the lands With all of mankind's greater gains;-- The last of all the waste, she brings The triumphs of her million kings!
A million white and black and red Whose treble toils misunderstood Build happy homes and fondly wed The desert place with joyous good, And at your feet, uncrowned, unblest Kneel for the knighthood of their quest!
Thralled in her chains, this fairest one Of all the realms that greatly found Rich largess on the barrens dun Pleads from her fetters, va.s.sal-bound; And still the Star before her swings: What think ye, Masters, of these things?
Oklahoma Suns.h.i.+ne
Dreams.
I.
Day-dreams and play-dreams! From the rosy morn Till the ashy eventide and the stars new-born, Ever bringing life and heart aweary with their load Promises of hope and cheer while tramping down the road.
II.
Night dreams and bright dreams! In the house of sleep With their happy faces full and their gazes deep, World on world so beautiful there they brightly bring, Till the heart is happy in the songs they sing.
III.
Day-dreams and Night-dreams,--all the dreams you will,-- Beckon up the rocky slope and summon o'er the hill,-- Summon us to do and dare all the deeds of yore Till the battle ceases, and we strive no more!
My Philosophy.
I've made up my mind In spite of the cranks, 'Tis a pretty good world And we ought to give thanks; And whether it came From the G.o.d or the grime, The fellow that runs it Don't lose any time.
I've made up my mind In spite of the tears.
That the world clambers up With the roll of the years; And whether it gropes Or is led on and on, It will come by and by To the meadows of dawn.
In spite of the sin And the folly around, 'Tis a much better place Than the fore-fathers found; And in spite of the fools And the devils that grieve I'm sure in no hurry To pull up and leave.
So shut up your mouth And don't grumble nor croak; Go put your poor head And your poor heart in soak; Lay all of your sorrows And sins on the shelf, For the world is all right If you're all right yourself!
Caught on the Fly.
If the girl with a white muslin dress and a picture hat has any troubles in this world she has a wonderful skill in hiding her real feelings.
Somehow, those men who are all the time telling how well money talks, never get well enough acquainted with it to speak with authority.
"De worst objection to de wortersmillion in Oklahomy," said a Mississippi black man, "is de fact dat it gits ripe too late fer de wheat harvest an' too yarly fer de cotton-pickin."
The average man grieves more when he runs out of chewing tobacco and the nearest neighbor who uses the filthy weed is three miles away, than he does when the mortgage takes the farm. Upon what little things doth happiness depend!
A Busy Family.
