page 22

Is Life Worth Living.

The world is glad as a maiden's smile,
It is gay as the lights of morning
When day is dawning,
And as fresh as the lark that soars the while
It sings;
It is laughter and song that gladden your heart,
Words of love, shouts of joy, friendly greeting,
Acquaintances whom you delight in meeting;
And you love the glad night and the part
That it brings.

(The world is like this, I'd explain, friend of mine,

When you study the world through the medium of wine.)

The world is sad as an orphan's tears,
It is drear as the wastes of Sahara,
Wind-swept Sahara,
And as glum as grey ghosts and the fears
They bring;
It is mourning and sighs that please you best then,
Deep despond, dark despair, black depression;
And life is a solemnly sad obsession
Where you'd shun the most humble of men
Or the King.

(This I would tell, friend of mine, as a warning,

Is the feeling you have when you wake the next morning.)

—Julius McL. Hogben.