If the learned Supreme Court of Illinois <br />Got at the secret of every case <br />As well as it does a case of rape <br />It would be the greatest court in the world. <br />A jury, of neighbors mostly, with "Butch" Weldy <br />As foreman, found me guilty in ten minutes <br />And two ballots on a case like this: <br />Richard Bandle and I had trouble over a fence, <br />And my wife and Mrs. Bandle quarreled <br />As to whether Ipava was a finer town than Table Grove. <br />I awoke one morning with the love of God <br />Brimming over my heart, so I went to see Richard <br />To settle the fence in the spirit of Jesus Christ. <br />I knocked on the door, and his wife opened; <br />She smiled and asked me in. I entered -- <br />She slammed the door and began to scream, <br />"Take your hands off, you low down varlet!" <br />Just then her husband entered. <br />I waved my hands, choked up with words. <br />He went for his gun, and I ran out. <br />But neither the Supreme Court nor my wife <br />Believed a word she said.<br /><br />Edgar Lee Masters<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/roy-butler/
