The Smiler

From the Omaha Daily Bee, September 30, 1912.
 

 There’s an idiotic fellow, whom I meet where’er I go;
 He’s the crazy kind of fellow all the little children know.
 You wouldn’t think him silly from his manner nor his style;
 Still, it seems, he must be foolish, for he always wears a smile.
 
 When the way is long and weary and load is hard to bear;
 When you’re weighted down with trouble and there’s no one seems to care,
 That’s the time this foolish fellow comes a-singing up the road,
 With a word and smile to cheer you and to help you with your load.
 
 With his smiling “Buck up, partner, ‘cause we’re bound to pull it through;
 Though your load’s too big for one man, it’s a little load for two.”
 And you feel yourself uplifted with the strength to play your part,
 With his arm to aid your body and his smile to brace your heart.
 
 No, he hasn’t got ambition, but his life-work never ends;
 He knows a million people, and he’s got a million friends.
 He doesn’t strive for fame and wealth, he hasn’t got a goal;
 He’s just a simple fellow, with God’s sunshine in his soul.
 
 Yes, he’s just a foolish fellow, with the eyes that cannot see
 All the misery and sadness that are plain to you and me,
 But he knows the joy of living, all that makes the world worth while;
 And I’d like to be as foolish as the man behind the smile.