The "American Sovereign"

The "American Sovereign" (1911)
by Eugene O'Neill

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Originally published in Mother Earth, Vol. VI, no. 3, May 1911. The original piece was unsigned, but was later attributed to him by Winifred Frazer in 1979, making it his first published work.

576378The "American Sovereign"1911Eugene O'Neill

The "American Sovereign"

[By Eugene O'Neill]

(With apologies to the literary executors of O. Khayyam)

Into the polling-place, and why not knowing,
Nor whence, like water, willy-nilly, flowing,
  And out again, when he has made the Cross,
Back to his fruitless, ill-paid labor going.

He, in his youth, did eagerly frequent
Old party rallies, heard great argument,
  About the Robber Tariff, and the Trusts,
And came away, no wiser than he went.

With them the seed of Piffle did he sow,
In hopes of some cheap job, helped make it grow,
  And this is all the Working Class has reaped--
Their efforts help their leaders get the Dough.

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.

This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

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