Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1907-05-15
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ABrief Engagement

essssssssssesesssessssssse
tOriginall
Poets are fitted to portray love rath-.
er than to practice it. To be in love
to them means to be lifted into realms
compared with which our ideas Of
heaven are tame.
knew a poetess once, Miss Sarah
Jones. She wrote under the pseudo
nym Of Madeline Lee. Miss Jones
was a real poetess. Unfortunately a
critic was required to appreciate what
she wrote, though a real critic would
place her poems on pretty high plat
form. He would read her verses. how
ever, with the wish that he might
catch hold Of her skirts and pull her
down to nearer proximity with real
life, feeling that if he could do so she
would express it beautifully. Never
theless Miss Jones occasionally dipped
into light vein and when she did so
was remarkably successful
Miss Jones was fifty. She was as
impractical as flying machine She
was continually getting locked out Of
her house because she could never re-
member to take the key She had
nothing that she didn't lose. She lost
nothing that she could find. She al
ways had something to love in poetic
way, whether it was boy, a girl, a
horse or dog I once asked her why
she had never married. These were
her reasons, given in a slow, thought
ful fashion that spoke more pictur-
esquely than her words:
had lover once. He was a fine
young fellow. Everybody said he
would be SUCCESSFUL; everybody adj
mired, everybody respected him. !
never knew why he took a fancy to
me, but he did. There wasn't any.
thing more about me then to take a
rancy to than there is now. 1t seems
to me that l was exactly the same as
am today. My skin wasn't so nea,
like parchment, and my teeth were
White, and none of them had dropped
out, but l had the same soul, and
after all, it's the soul that is loved. II
1t were the body, how would old peonle
love each other?
1t didn't seem to me that nv love,
loved me for what was really worth
he said he loved me because | was
peculiar. not like the other girls.
suppose | was well looking then. TO.
ne praised my chestnut hair and my
brown eyes. That was the first time
knew that | had chestnut hair an,
brown eyes. My eyes never interested
me, and my hair bothered me. for if
didn't keep running comb through il
there was sure to be tangle. But il
didn't seem to me that my lover was
man for me to look up to, though
every one else looked up to him. He
said l was too good for him.
One evening he came to see ME ate,
I'd been writing. 1t was spring even
Ing. The moon was half full. The nil
was laden with the odor Of flowers
Lightning bugs were flashing between
day and dark. and it seemed to me tina
the earth was dressed in spangles ant
SA-S AAASoA vas ASulluS luclH up. lueI,
was daLodil sky in the west. Will
only one fine long cloud over the hori
ION that looked as if it had been draw
there With purple and vermilion pen
! Gil.
l felt my lovers hand laid on ZINE
then an arm stole around my waist
He told me how he had loved me ever
| when we were children at school, tina
he used to steal away from the otl>e
boys to be with me, to listen to til,
strange things said to him. He didn'
understand them, but they lifted M
upon plane above him and stimulated
his fascination for me. 1t was all yer,
sweet. The moon looked down on III
with smile. The firefies grew dim
the pencil streak In the west diet
away. He asked me if l could Civ,
him my love. l let my head sink OF
his breast, where could hear the pull
sations of his heart, and said:
EYES,"
The next day began to wonder
| I'd done very fine or very sill,