After I had attended lectures <br />At our Chautauqua, and studied French <br />For twenty years, committing the grammar <br />Almost by heart, <br />I thought I'd take a trip to Paris <br />To give my culture a final polish. <br />So I went to Peoria for a passport -- <br />(Thomas Rhodes was on the train that morning.) <br />And there the clerk of the district Court <br />Made me swear to support and defend <br />The constitution -- yes, even me -- <br />Who couldn't defend or support it at all! <br />And what do you think? That very morning <br />The Federal Judge, in the very next room <br />To the room where I took the oath, <br />Decided the constitution <br />Exempted Rhodes from paying taxes <br />For the water works of Spoon River!<br /><br />Edgar Lee Masters<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/ida-chicken/
