I sat on the bank above BernadotteAnd dropped crumbs in the water,Just to see the minnows bump each other,Until the strongest got the prize.Or I went to my little pasture,Where the peaceful swine were asleep in the wallow,Or nosing each other lovingly,And emptied a basket of yellow corn,And watched them push and squeal and bite,And trample each other to get the corn.And I saw how Christian Dallman’s farm,Of more than three thousand acres,Swallowed the patch of Felix Schmidt,As a bass will swallow a minnowAnd I say if there’s anything in man—Spirit, or conscience, or breath of GodThat makes him different from fishes or hogs,I’d like to see it work!
Spoon River Anthology · Edgar Lee Masters