Drunk or sober Uncle Jim <br /> Played the boy; <br />Never glum or sour or grim, <br /> Oozin' joy. <br />Most folks thought he was no good, <br /> Blamin' him; <br />But where kiddies were, you could <br /> Bank on Jim. <br /> <br />Sure he allus hated work, <br /> Lovin' play. <br />"Jest a good fer nuthin' jerk," <br /> Lots would say. <br />Yet how the children fell for him, <br /> Whooped with glee: <br />Guys so popular as Jim <br /> Seldom be. <br /> <br />How old songs, sweet as a bell, <br /> He would sing! <br />What grand stories he would tell, <br /> Gesturin'! <br />Elders reckoned him a sot, <br /> Sighin' sad; <br />But with tiny toddlers what <br /> Sport he had! <br /> <br />Might have had a brood, they said, <br /> Of his own; <br />Lost his wife in childbirth bed, <br /> Left him lone . . . <br />Well, now he is cold an' still, <br /> Here's to him: <br />Kids an' mothers always will <br /> Bless old Jim.<br /><br />Robert William Service<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/child-lover/
