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Eugene Field - The Limitations Of Youth
Work rating: Low

I`d like to be a cowboy an` ride a fiery hoss
  Way out into the big an` boundless west;
I`d kill the bears an` catamounts an` wolves I come across,
  An` I`d pluck the bal` head eagle from his nest!
      With my pistols at my side,
      I would roam the prarers wide,
An` to scalp the savage Injun in his wigwam would I ride—
      If I darst; but I darsen`t!

I`d like to go to Afriky an` hunt the lions there,
  An` the biggest ollyfunts you ever saw!
I would track the fierce gorilla to his equatorial lair,
  An` beard the cannybull that eats folks raw!
      I`d chase the pizen snakes
      An` the `pottimus that makes
His nest down at the bottom of unfathomable lakes—
      If I darst; but I darsen`t!

I would I were a pirut to sail the ocean blue,
  With a big black flag aflyin` overhead;
I would scour the billowy main with my gallant pirut crew
  An` dye the sea a gouty, gory red!
      With my cutlass in my hand
      On the quarterdeck I`d stand
And to deeds of heroism I`d incite my pirut band—
      If I darst; but I darsen`t!

And, if I darst, I`d lick my pa for the times that he`s licked me!
  I`d lick my brother an` my teacher, too!
I`d lick the fellers that call round on sister after tea,
  An` I`d keep on lickin` folks till I got through!
      You bet! I`d run away
      From my lessons to my play,
An` I`d shoo the hens, an` tease the cat, an` kiss the girls all day—
      If I darst; but I darsen`t!
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