---

Edgar Guest - Mother`s Party Dress
Work rating: Low

"Some day," says Ma, "I`m goin` to get
A party dress all trimmed with jet,
An` hire a seamstress in, an` she
Is goin` to fit it right on me;
An` then, when I`m invited out
To teas an` socials hereabout,
I`ll put it on an` look as fine
As all th` women friends of mine."
An` Pa looked up: "I sold a cow,"
Says he, "go down an` get it now."
An` Ma replied: "I guess I`ll wait,
We`ve other needs that`s just as great.
The children need some clothes to wear,
An` there are shoes we must repair;
It ain`t important now to get
A dress fer me, at least not yet;
  I really can`t afford it."

Ma`s talked about that dress fer years;
How she`d have appliqued revers;
The kind o` trimmin` she would pick;
How `t would be made to fit her slick;
The kind o` black silk she would choose,
The pattern she would like to use.
An` I can mind the time when Pa
Give twenty dollars right to Ma,
An` said: "Now that`s enough, I guess,
Go buy yourself that party dress."
An` Ma would take th` bills an` smile,
An` say: "I guess I`ll wait awhile;
Aunt Kitty`s poorly now with chills,
She needs a doctor and some pills;
I`ll buy some things fer her, I guess;
An` anyhow, about that dress,
  I really can`t afford it."

An` so it`s been a-goin` on,
Her dress fer other things has gone;
Some one in need or some one sick
Has always touched her to th` quick;
Or else, about th` time `at she
Could get th` dress, she`d always see
The children needin` somethin` new;
An` she would go an` get it, too.
An` when we frowned at her, she`d smile
An` say: "The dress can wait awhile."
Although her mind is set on laces,
Her heart goes out to other places;
An` somehow, too, her money goes
In ways that only mother knows.
While there are things her children lack
She won`t put money on her back;
An` that is why she hasn`t got
A party dress of silk, an` not
  Because she can`t afford it.
Source
The script ran 0.001 seconds.