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"Twelve gathered round the table, with Rita at the head,
And Mr. Taylor at the foot. A brave man it was said,
To face so many schoolma’ams, but quite at ease was he;
He's used to them and understands—he married one, you see.
First came the task of choosing, 'twixt chicken, ham or fish.
No matter what we ordered, it was a savory dish, With soup and rolls and coffee that warmed us through and through,
Then cake, ice cream or sherbet—what silly things we do I
We chose 'twixt all the sauces, and some did then partake
Of Kirkshire’s extra special delectable rum cake.
So after more hot coffee and cream mints for a treat
We paid the bill, declaring our dinner most comj plete.
We heard reports and motions and talked, as mortals do;
We voted in our officers to serve the New Year through,
And pledged again our efforts to help as best we could
The urgent need of Framinghaih, as loyal daughters should.
We shivered, we’ll admit it, but when our work was done,
We gathered round the Brickett fire and had a little fun
In bidding at the auction of luscious things to eat—
Cream puffs, date squares, and brownies, it was a treat!
And there were jars of pickles, and handwork for the home.
These added up together to make a tidy sum.
Thus one more page is written in our Club’s history,
Which proves we have the spirit of Framingham, you see,
That burns so strong within us, no matter what the weather,
We’ll carry on for Framingham forever and FOREVER.
Elizabeth Cushing Taylor, 1906."
-
"Oh, these awful, awful teachers, Such stern and frosty creatures, Whose cross and frigid features Bespeak our woes to come.
All so stiff and n'er unbending, Not a whit of kindness lending, With assignments long unending, For us poor mortals dumb.”
-
"Twelve Things to Remember
The Value of Time The Success of Working The Dignity of Simplicity The Worth of Character The Power of Kindness The Influence of Example The Obligation of Duty The Wisdom of Economy The Virtue of Patience The Improvement of Talent The Joy of Originating
Marshall Field."
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"A SAD TALE WITH A HAPPY ENDING
A muscular mussel
Was having a tussle
With a lobster most annoying.
"You cur, sir I
Infer, sir,
That the tactics you’re employing
Arc vicious,
Most officious,
And your claws I find too cloying I” “Cur, sir?
Defer, sir,
Your bitter accusation.
A claw (I find)
Is (to my mind)
The thing in disputation.
It cuts so clean and quick
With one decisive lick!
But on your hide, You chowder’s-pride, It will not work, I’ve found!" "Aba,” the clever clam replied, “It's ’cause I’m mussel-bound I”
Anne Moynahan, ’43."
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"LONDON 1941
The bombs fall over London, over London, over London.
The bombs fall over London, and Death rides in the sky.
Whoever walks in London when silver streaks fly by
Shall hear Death’s whispered calling, and the droning siren’s cry.
The bombs fall over London, over London, over London.
The bombs fall over London, an Empire hears Death's tread.
The bombs fall over London, a nation mourns her dead.
When quiet comes to London, and children play in streets,
The rain shall fall on London, on London.
The rain shall fall on London, the quiet rain and peace.
Barbara A. Egan, ’42."
-
"Oh, the Class of ’39 has traveled far since graduating,
Tho whether ’tis ahead or not is matter for debating.
But anyhow, regardless, you have got to give them credit,
Tho I go down in history the only one that said it.
We haven’t written many books or married any midgits,
But you couldn’t count the kind remarks to every kid that figets.
We are not shapely models, widely famous for our poses,
But you should see us on the job, blowing kiddies’ noses.
“For this we went to college,” is our day by day lament,
When zippers stick and clothes go on in ways that were not meant,
When rubbers get themselves mixed up and little Johnny cries,
“Ma said if I lose those, again, she’ll put the teacher wise!”
The dears are so original, especially as cooks, The recipes that they create would make a set of books.
Their manners for invited guests are marvelous to watch,
And yet in spite of undue care, the meal they’re sure to botch.
The ones who sew with gusto have the longest seams to rip,
And there are those who can confuse the waist line with the hip.
Oh, rural schools and city ones won’t leave you standing still,
For if a blizzard doesn’t come a supervisor will. In teaching lies the world’s great hope, I’ve often heard it said;
For some of us our only hope is that we’ll soon be wed!"
-
"It is not growing like a tree
In bulk, doth make man better be;
Or standing long an oak, three hundred year, To fall a log at last, dry, bald, and .sear:
A lily of a day
Is fairer far in May,
Although it fall and die that night,—
It was the plant and flower of Light.
In small proportions we just beauties see, And in short measures life may perfect be.”
-
"Spring Vacation
April twenty-fourth to twenty-eighth, inclusive New Spring suits.
India Wharf, Atlantic Avenue, Boston—
Off to Washington via New York!
Sunrise on the Atlantic.
Express to Washington.
Brown and white saddles:
Cherry blossoms in bloom.
White House, Lincoln Memorial, the mint;
Sore feet.
Sunset on the Potomac.
7 A. M.—time to get up.
Brown and whites.
Mount Vernon, Congressional Library, Congress, Supreme Court.
Free evening!
All aboard for Philadelphia!
More brown and whites:
Liberty bell, Independence Hall, Fairmont Park.
Back to the Big City, Pennsylvania Station
34th Street—Look at Macy’s!
Rush for boat on West Street.
Sunset on the Atlantic
Sunrise in Boston Harbor.
Epilogue
Why don’t you take advantage
Of this glorious trip.
See America first.
See Marguerite Eagan second for further information.
Price—for all this—only $35
Why don’t YOU take advantage
Of this glorious trip!
Theresa Caruso ’42."
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Part 1: "PRAYER
God, though this life is but a wraith.
Although we know not what we use, zUthough we grope with little faith, Give me the heart to fight—and lose.
Ever insurgent let me be,
Make me more daring than devout;
From sleek contentment keep me free, And fill me with a buoyant doubt.
Open my eyes to visions girt
With beauty, and with wonder lit— But let me always see the dirt, And al! that spawn and die in it.
Open my ears to music; let
Me thrill with Spring’s first flutes and drums— (Continued on page six, column three)"
Part 2: "PRAYER
(Continued from page one)
But never let me dare forget
The bitter ballads of the slums.
From compromise and things half done,
Keep me, with stern and stubborn pride;
And when, at last, the fight is won, God, keep me stilt unsatisfied.
—Louis Untermeyer."
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NEH preferred seal to be used with NEH-sponsored sites
-
Part 1: "STRANGE HOLINESS
There is a strange holiness around Our common days on common ground.
I have heard it in the birds Whose voices reach above all words, Going upward, bars on bars
Until they sound as high as stars.
I have seen it in the snake, A flowing jewel in the brake.
It has sparkled in my eyes In luminous breath of fireflies.
I have come upon its track
Where trilliums curled their petals back.
1 have seen it flash in under
The towers of the midnight thunder.
Once, 1 met it face to face In a fox pressed by the chase,
He came down the road on feet, Quiet and fragile, light as heat.
He had a fish still wet and bright In his slender jaws held tight.
His ears were conscious whetted darts
His eyes had small flames in their hearts.
The preciotisness of life and breath Glowed through him as he outran death.
Strangeness and secrecy and pride Ran rippling down his golden hide.
His beauty was not meant for me With my dull eyes so close to see.
Unconscious of me rapt, alone,
He came and then stopped still as stone."
Part 2:
"(Continued on page four, column one)
ON ROBERT P. TRISTRAM COFFIN
(Continued front page three)
His eyes went out as in a gust, His beauty crumbled into dust.
There was but a ruin there, A hunted creature, stripped and bare.
Then he faded at one stroke
Like a dingy, melting smoke.
But there his fish lay like a key To the bright, lost mystery.
—Robert P. Tristram Coffin.
(Courtesy of the author)
—Hope Hathaway."
-
"COMMA CAUTION
Be gentle to the comma with its curly little tail: Though dainty and diminutive, its power turns one pale I
It causes much confusion when neglected or misplaced,
So slur it not through ignorance, nor hobble it through haste 1
Expressions parenthetical (however or said he), All nominatives of address, appositives aussi, Inverted-order clauses, which come before the main,
The members of a series (Lizzie, Annabel, and Jane),
Long phrases introductory containing verbal parts, All nonrestrictive elements (“His hobby, which is arts—”),
Dates, addresses in detail (10 Broadway, Hartford, Conn.),
Or (Saturday, June, ’36), and, last to ponder on, The parts of compound sentences ("Ike hops, but Willie flees")—
All these require commas tucked in their interstices.
One may not move a mountain, but one may preserve a state
By cultivating commas. . . . And tomorrow is too late!
Harold Willard Gleason."
-
"AFTER MANY SPRINGS
My dreams I spin from air in spring, Lovely, gossamer, golden things, Fierce as silver pointed rain Beating rhythm on my brain.
Autumn comes and sunset spills Red blood across the western hills; It bleeds my dreams; they lived in vain. But—oh, they will be born again.
—Hope Hathaway."
-
"Skyscraper
A fat cigar In the city dust Is what you are, Industrial Trust.
Solid and tall With glowing tip, Smoking away At the sidewalk’s lip.
C. W."
-
"Which Division?
Heart heart A little doggerel
About Division —;
We have more fun here at our school
Than any one of you.
At noon, down in the lunch room With laughter and with glee, We talk about day’s happenings Like one big family.
There’s Meave, our worthy president
Who’s won our admiration
And this can easily be seen By our co-operation.
There’s Mabel with the lovely hair,
And Frances with a grin,
And Fern comes stomping into class—
She makes a mighty din.
Emma’s like a cool spring breeze Refreshing and delicious, And Eileen E. is much the same But apt to be capricious.
Alice, Ruth, and Myrtle quiet and quite proper Never do a thing that's wrong.
(Now, that may be a whopper I)
Betty B. and Betty E.
In every kind of weather
Romp throughout the corridors
And like to be together.
Barbara is a pal indeed, It seems she has no side kick. But if there’s something one wants done It’s she who’s going to act quick.
Ruth G. and our fair Lillian
Are just a happy pair;
Marie’s among our number, too."
-
"To write she has a flair.
There’s also Belle with her slow smile
And Elvic from Monroe
There’s Ellen too, and let me see,
Yes, just four more to go— Betty G. has come with us She’s partly sophomore Priscilla, Pat and Rita Are from Charles River’s shore. So here's three cheers for El. II In this I’m firmly set It doesn’t seem that there can be A time when first we met.
-I. Oliver"
-
"Spring
Spring is in the air
The wind blows my hair
Hear all the birds sing Because it’s spring.
The days are getting cool
The birds are bathing in their pool The bluebells in the garden ring Because it’s spring."
-
"Mother’s Day
Many Mothers sweet here are;
Loving Mothers near and far;
Yet for kindness, sweetness too, None there are as dear as you."
-
"A LETTER CAME FROM HOME TODAY
A letter came from home today;
There wasn't much to read—
Just a line or two:
“We want you to know we think of you.”
It changed the skies to brightest blue.
“The weather’s clear and very snappy;
We hope that you are well and happy.”
It wasn’t much—
Just a line or two,
But oh, my heart has been so gay;
A letter came from home today.
—The Pen Dragon, Onconia Normal."
-
"ON HATS—A POEM
Some people can not understand just why, to wear a hat—we put it on and take it off and tip it and all that. They feel that these conventions are all man-made to be broken, and to defend their attitude they quite frequently have spoken. Now calmly they assert their views with logic that is strong, then waxing hot to prove their point they argue loud and long.
Such inessential niceties arc all a lot of rot, and we arc foolish to observe when reason dictates not. They quote from great authorities to prove themselves correct, yet they refuse to recognize the force of self-respect—that vanity must be consoled they cannot realize. Why do they clean their fingernails? Why do they wear neckties?
—The Bulletin, Emporia, Kansas."
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SILENCE OF—
A twinkling star
A kitten’s pad-pad across the floor A growing flower An unused book
An inspiring, beautiful painting
A moonbeam reflected on the water
A sleeping child
An unexpressed idea
A bird’s flight
An unsung song A prayer.
—Louise Sondermann, ’37.
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"THE GRAY SQUIRREL SPEAKS
Master Josephine’s a black and white cat.
He lives at Crocker where he’s getting very fat.
He is very much spoiled, for he has his own way.
He is growing more conceited every day 1
If you stop for a chat as he sits near the door,
He yawns quite openly and murmurs, "What a bore I”
If you choose to give news of the latest Rat Hunt,
He says, "Can’t be bothered with that kind of stunt 1”
He has his own bed and his very own chair;
You'd think he was a king—such a lordly air!
“Room Service, please,” you ought to hear him call—
Someone always answers at Crocker Hall!
I’m only Gray Squirrel, and 1 don't know it all,
But Grand-dad used to say, “Pride goes before a Fall.”
Now perhaps I am jealous, and with envy insane,
But Master'Josephine—gives me a pain!
—R. H. C."
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"DESIRE
In college days, on dateless nights, Pajamaed in all hues but white, The girls sat ’round my room to talk Behind a door, key turned in lock, Of food and clothes and class and then Men and men and men and men. And while exposing rivals’ guile, Eating olives all the while, As we relived last week-end's dance, Adoring everything with pants, I’d wish as only school girls can That I were married to my man.
Those nights have gone, as school nights can;
And now I’m married to my man, And as he dozes on the couch, His face sunk in a general slouch, His suit all baggy at the knee, His feet on my best tapestry, As we pass time within our flat, Keeping still our little brat, I wish till my libido curls That I were back with those old girls.
—Aleen Wetstein."
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"Sons who went to college.
The banker’s son who took up chemistry in search of a universal solvent.
The alphabet soup maker’s son who garnered all the letters from A to F.
The barber's son who dipped a track record.
The butcher’s son who cut classes.
The temperance advocate’s son who took the driest courses.
The telegraph operator’s son who became a dash man."
-
"Sister, Can You Spare a Dime?
We work on our paper, make it pay, Make it race against time.
We get out our paper. Now, we say, Sister, can you spare a dime?
We work on our paper day and night— This |>art we do not mind.
Now to pay us back, oh, don’t be tight— Sister, can you spare a dime?
Once we didn’t have any paper at all;
You said, "We shall," and elected a staff; Now we’ve worked it-up, improved it a lot,
We sell a few, maybe a half.
Say, won't you consider what it is worth To have a paper so fine?
And won't you reach down, even if it hurts.
Oh, Sister, won't you spare a dime?
S. L. M. '33."
