Bride from the South
p. 45 · Read in the full issue
Life in the Islands they tell me is sweet But oh, how I long for a beefsteak to eat!
The pawpaws are here, but I long for my teef To sink into something that ain’t bully beef!
And I’m wishful for kitchens wherein you can see What sort of bananas you’re having for tea.
I long for a modiste to make me a gown; I long for a bath where I really sit down; I long for some plants that will one day come up; And wish that I knew what was wrong with the pup.
I’ve a lovely blue ocean that goes on for miles — But they tell me it’s ’bounding with large crocodiles.
Life may be bright, but the future is dim When you’ve got the whole ocean, and no place to swim.
I long for the sight of a good Southern door; I long for the feel of a good Southern floor; But here I’ll confess (before I say more) That a good Southern pavement is rather a bore.
And there’s something so pleasant in drinks just on five (When they’re fighting for tram:—do they know they’re alive!) And hot salted garlups and chips before tea And little green fishes that laze in the sea, There’s something in going each time by canoe (Though if I don’t want to, well, what can I do!) There’s fun in the sun, and there’s silver by night; The moon in the palm-trees, and fireflies in flight; There’s something in being an Islander’s wife— The beef may be bully, but so is the life!