The Happiest Man in I-O-Way By Rupert Hughes

Jes' down the road a piece, 'ith the dust so deep

It teched the bay mare¹'s fetlocks; an' the sun

So b'ilin' hot, the pewees dassn't peep;

Seemed like midsummer 'fore² the spring's begun!

An' me plumb³ beat an' good-fer-nothin'-like

An' awful lonedsome fer a sight o' you …

I come to that big locus⁴' by the pike,

An' she was all in bloom, an' trembly, too,

With breezes like drug-store perfumery.

I stood up in my stirrups, with my head

So deep in flowers they almost smothered⁵ me.

I kind o' liked to think that I was dead …

An' if I hed 'a' died like that to-day,

I'd 'a' be'n the happiest man in I-o-way.

For whut's the us't o' goin' on like this?

Your pa not 'lowin me around the place …

Well, fust I knowed, I'd give them blooms a kiss;

They tasted like Good-Night on your white face.

I reached my arms out wide, an' hugged 'em—say,

I dreamp' your little heart was hammerin' me!

I broke this branch off for a love-bo'quet;

'F I'd be'n a giant, I'd 'a' plucked the tree!

The blooms is kind o' dusty from the road,

But you won't mind. And, as the feller said,

"When this you see remember me"—I knowed

Another poem; but I've lost my head

From seein' you! 'Bout⁷ all that I kin⁶ say

Is—"I'm the happiest man in I-o-way."

Well, comin' 'long the road I seen your ma

Drive by to town—she didn't speak to me!

An' in the farthest field I seen your pa

At his spring-plowin', like I'd ought to be.

But, knowin' you'd be here all by yourself,

I hed to come—for now's our livin' chance.

Take off yer apern, leave things on the shelf—

Our preacher needs what th' feller calls "romance."

Ain't got no red-wheeled buggy; but the mare

Will carry double, like we've trained her to.

Jes' put a locus'-blossom in your hair

An' let's ride straight to heaven—me an' you!

I'll build y' a little house, an' folks'll say:

"There lives the happiest pair in I-o-way."

1 mare   

n.母马，母驴

参考例句：

• The mare has just thrown a foal in the stable.那匹母马刚刚在马厩里产下了一只小马驹。
• The mare foundered under the heavy load and collapsed in the road.那母马因负载过重而倒在路上。

2 fore   

adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部

参考例句：

• Your seat is in the fore part of the aircraft.你的座位在飞机的前部。
• I have the gift of fore knowledge.我能够未卜先知。

3 plumb   

adv.精确地，完全地；v.了解意义，测水深

参考例句：

• No one could plumb the mystery.没人能看破这秘密。
• It was unprofitable to plumb that sort of thing.这种事弄个水落石出没有什么好处。

4 locus   

n.中心

参考例句：

• Barcelona is the locus of Spanish industry.巴塞罗那是西班牙工业中心。
• Thereafter,the military remained the locus of real power.自此之后，军方一直掌握着实权。

5 smothered   

（使）窒息， （使）透不过气( smother的过去式和过去分词 )； 覆盖； 忍住； 抑制

参考例句：

• He smothered the baby with a pillow. 他用枕头把婴儿闷死了。
• The fire is smothered by ashes. 火被灰闷熄了。

6 kin   

n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的

参考例句：

• He comes of good kin.他出身好。
• She has gone to live with her husband's kin.她住到丈夫的亲戚家里去了。

7 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。