Classic Poem

I'd rather stand important in a swallow
Tailed coat provided by the maison and
Take hats and wraps in the porches of Apollo
[Letting the gentlemen perceive my hand
By accident (the palm a little hollow)
Under the overcoats]—I'd rather stand
Here at the door and tell the crowd to follow
The golden arrows till they hear the band.

Than work inside. Inside you never see
The pretty women in expensive dresses
Who come on tilted heels to dance nor the
Hibernian earls and Iowa princesses
But carry coals all night in a rusty hod
For what?—
for nothing but to see the god.