[Gutenberg 55670] • Men I'm Not Married To / with Women I'm Not Married To

No matter where my route may lie,

No matter whither I repair,

In brief—no matter how or why

Or when I go, the boys are there.

On lane and byways, street and square,

On alley, path and avenue,

They seem to spring up everywhere—

The men I am not married to.

I watch them as they pass me by;

At each in wonderment I stare,

And, “but for heaven’s grace,” I cry,

“There goes the guy whose name I’d wear!”

They represent no species rare,

They walk and talk as others do;

They’re fair to see—but only fair—

The men I am not married to.

I’m sure that to a mother’s eye

Is each potentially a bear.

But though at home they rank ace-high,

No change of heart could I declare.

Yet worry silvers not their hair;

They deck them not with sprigs of rue.

It’s curious how they do not care—

The men I am not married to.