In and Out

From the Newark Evening Star, October 31, 1914.

“I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls!”
    He sang the old refrain,
The man on whom the public calls
    To toil with might and main.
He stepped into his palace grand,
    And then he heard a shout,
In accents of succinct command,
    The warning, “This way out!”

The statesman or the warrior bold
    Strives on from year to year,
Until before his eyes unfold
    The scenes of pomp and cheer.
And when he seeks the sweet repose
    He earned, beyond a doubt,
Fate all his dreaming overthrows,
    And hollers, “This way out!”