Johnson ain't in--just at present--
Won't you stop and rest a bit?
Don't act strange. There's no hard feelings,
Though I've never seen before
Any man that knocked like you did
On a peaceful neighbor's door.
Come right in; now, don't be backward,
Like old times to have _you_ 'round!
You look tired, like you'd traveled
Over quite a stretch of ground.
Sit right here in this old rocker;
Johnson fixed it up one day,
Feeling certain you would never
Come meandering 'round this way.


40

"Don't get up and act uneasy,
Rest yourself, now, if you can,
You don't mind me like Jim Johnson--
He's a most obedient man.
You went off and left your eighty,
Roaming where the luck-wind blows,
Like a tumbleweed in winter,
Where you've been, Lord only knows.
While Jim's gone we'll talk together,
As we used to, months ago,
When I tried to quench the burning
Of a love I didn't know.