#arthur m sampley

[whats-in-a-sentence]

The Ne'er-Do-Well

Arthur M. Sampley

When Enoch should have been at work,

He might be fishing in the creek,

Or when the dewberries were ripe,

He'd leave his plowing for a week.

He'd take an hour to smoke a pipe,

Sitting with legs crossed like a Turk.

And yet the banker, looking grim

When Enoch with a note past due

Had left his corn patch to the cows,

Sought a persimmon grove he knew

And, finding Enoch in the boughs,

Stared long and wistfully at him.

"Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle... And Other Modern Verse" - compiled by Stephen Dunning, Edward Lueders, and Hugh Smith