"A Picture In Verse"
By Ernest L. White
The Hampton Union and Rockingham County Gazette,
Thursday, January 31, 1935
An aching back and frozen feet
And a man who gives a little sigh,
As he gazes up at the leaden sky.
Then up the road there comes a thing
Like a bird of prey with out-stretched wing,
And gleefully fills up path and yard
With tons of snow. Gosh! Life is hard.
A man who shakes his fist and worse,
Says things I cannot put in verse,
As he turns once more to shovel a path
Warmed up somewhat by righteous wrath.
"The Snow Plow"
By Ernest L. White
The Hampton Union and Rockingham County Gazette,
Thursday, February 21, 1935
A roaring, shrieking blizzard,
And it is nearly 10 below,
With all the roads impassable,
Blocked up with drifted snow.
Perchance you need a doctor
Or fuel, or things to eat,
And anxiously gaze through the frosted pane
Down the deserted street.
The plow is no longer a bird of prey,
But a giant with goodly intent.
When it has opened the road once again,
You sigh in deep content.
And thus in life the most of us
Criticize in our wrath
Any act that's done for the common good,
If it clogs our sunny path.
"Have You Noticed?"
By Ernest L. White
The Hampton Union and Rockingham County Gazette,
Thursday, March 7, 1935
And smiles and pats my back,
And if I spin a moss-grown joke
Laughs loud at my "wise crack."
He's scandalized to think I walked,
And passes out a smoke,
Shows interest in my family's health.
(Sh! -- He's looking for my vote.)
And you bet I'll make the most of it,
For 'tis my day to roar;
And he listens while I air my views,
Outside the Town Hall door.
For experience has taught me
If after election we should meet,
He won't be half as cordial,
Or my approval try to seek.
To-day, I'm one of the "Dear People"
That he plans to serve so well,
But after the voting's over with,
I'm told to go to ----!
"That Little Train"
by Ernest L. White, 1946
stoking the boiler.
I.
Just a little thing, but folks it did thrill,
About three feet high, and didn't climb hills,
Folks touring New England even from a hundred miles away,
Came to ride this miniature steam train on a set aside day.
II.
Chugging around its hundred feet of track,
Through a pine grove, it safely came back,
Grown-ups couldn't resist this exact replica ride,
Of iron, brass trimmed; the ride's cost, all could provide.
III.
A cow-catcher was on front, as on all trains,
With coal tender and coal shovel used again and again,
This model had a bell, safety gauge and whistle that blew,
Burned a combination of coal and coke, for its thousand foot debut.
IV.
Cars would seat ten smiling faces on leaving the station,
The Rocky Nook Railroad is replaced by hot top accumulation,
But memory of its eleven running years,
Brings back memories, much in arrears.