Classic Poem

There was once an unhappy man
Who had a bazaar in the east
Where he carved little ivory toys
Of elephant, god, and priest.

The children gathered and gaped,
And lovers paused as they went:
There were crystal dwarfs with staves
And grotesque images pent

In beryl and chrysolite;
There were tumblers poising a fan;
And here was a bird, and there
A bear that danced with a man. . . .

The man bent low in his booth
Plying and plying his trade
To bury the woes of his life
In the queer little toys he made;

And the people bought and bought,
The street was full of their press —
And they named the man's bazaar
" The Booth Of Happiness! "