From the Omaha Daily Bee, January 22, 1914. By Philander Johnson.
When Shakespeare made the statement that this world is all a stage
He pictured what we must regard as quite a different age;
An age when men gave study to the roles they undertook
And forms and courtesies prevailed which none might overlook.
The merry villagers came forth in song upon the green;
The aristocracy with easy grace observed the scene.
There was in truth a deal of superficial show,
And the action of the drama, though intense, was often slow.
At present we are going at a swiftly modern pace;
There’s real ginger in the troop they call the Human Race.
The trolley cars are buzzing and the lights are all ablaze,
And we do in twenty minutes work that formerly took days.
We take our pleasures swiftly and our griefs are soon forgot;
No permanent emotion animates our earthly lot,
And we’re forced to the conclusion that the days of long ago
Have vanished and the world is now a moving picture show.
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