Edgar Lee Masters (1868–1950). Spoon River Anthology. 1916.

96. Jonas Keene

WHY did Albert Schirding kill himself

Trying to be County Superintendent of Schools,

Blest as he was with the means of life

And wonderful children, bringing him honor

Ere he was sixty?

If even one of my boys could have run a news-stand,

Or one of my girls could have married a decent man,

I should not have walked in the rain

And jumped into bed with clothes all wet,

Refusing medical aid.