Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1881-07-09
POETR ".
THE DEFECTIVE Nail.
/ 81 a carpenter naiIing one dav


/ looked st a carpenter mailing one day
Some westherboards on i'm workmanfkew way
And saw that the claw Of the hammer he clap
70 a nail which the moment before ne had tap
ped
And, drawing it ont, threw 1t back with jerk
Took another instead, and went on with his
work.
whats that for?'' asked him. "Hayenails
grown 50 cheap
That you toss them away as too worthless to
keep?'
No" he answered, at bent in the driving,
and so,
Lest it make bad job, to the ground it must
We draw da wlilemore able" hesaid, with a grin,
' For We can pull it out, once We hammer il
in
When the nail had been followed by one that
was good,
Inoticed beside it q dent in the wood
The mark had been made by the base of the
CLAW r.t
through TIE strong force exerted the bent nail
% draw;
And there the depression, to eyesight quite
plain,
Though twice painted over viii doubtless re
main.
No marvellous ipcident. certainly; still
!, set me TO thinking as little things WILL
How habits, Ike nails, be they wrong ones OF
right,
Can't be drawn from their places when ham
mered in tight;
And, though drawn ere they sink TO the neai
leave behind
By their drawing, some traces on body and
mind.
When young man seeks money and nothing
And quoting Zen. Franklin his meanness tc
hide.
Does small things forpelf and with muck-rakc
i'm haHd,
Shows the crown overhead petty gains to com
Thopgh It end n that wealth he is anxious to
win, ..
He has struck a bent nail AMI has hammered
it in.
When a das'iing young man at the outset OF
life. t.,t
Who has won some pure maiden ana malehei
his wife
Leaves his home and his wife for some low,
Where ne c. dria{Ss AID tarouscs With 'dis.olat,
men.
The nail hcis driving may Crookcn 10 sin;
Better pail it out quickly not hammer it IN.
When some ncighbor Of those secs their faults
through a glass
That makes them too large for the censor to
pass
And. with sense Of their wickodncss, righteous
ly hot,
Calls one mere misor. the other sot-
lie i handling nail that is not worth pin:
Like corkscrew twill twist if he hammer it
in
When a Girl shows the world that She surely
thinks less
OF hcrculture and conduct than gadding and
dress
When She eagerly seeks fora confab with those
whose talk solely runs upon dresses and beauN
Ncslccting home duties some strcet-yarn 70
That nail VIII q s tro,ibTc II oaco Hammered
IL.
When a wife fndshertomporgrowp peeyish and
sour r
And the tones that once charmed her nave lost
all their power;
When sac scolds till her husband in fury and
PAIN.
Like "a fool seeks ina WhsKcy oblivion to gain
'Twcrc better by far dId She never begin
To tap on that nail. much less hammer it in.
When some woman-wife, widow, or spinster
the Silns-
Too eager to blow the dull Goals to fame
The faults of her sisters brings closer TO view,
Calling this one street-gabbcr and that one a
shrew,
Her nail has q flaw. Is ill-shapcn and thin,
rs shcll find to her cost when she hammers 1t
in.
Enough for the lesson. The nails that we
drive,
Not through boards tlnt arc p;lseless, but
frames that are live,
Examine them we'll, closely scan ere too late;
Should they prove Of firm metal, "eii-cut ana
quite straight,
REGARDLESS of snccring, or clamor, or din,
Place each where it should be, and hammer 1t
in.