Classic Poem

SIMPLE SIMON

A BOY named Simon sojourned in a dale;
Some said that he was simple, but I 'm sure
That he was nothing less than simon pure;
They thought him so because, forsooth, a whale
He tried to catch in Mother's water-pail.
Ah! little boy, timid, composed, demure, —
He had imagination. Yet endure
Defeat he could, for he of course did fail.
But there are Simons of a larger growth,
Who, too, in shallow waters fish for whales,
And when they fail they are " unfortunate. "
If the small boy is simple, then are both,
And the big Simon more, who often rails
At what he calls ill luck or unkind fate.