Metamorphosis

From the Bisbee Daily Review, June 29, 1913.
 By Roy K. Moulton.
 

 When statesmen go to Washington
     They are brimful of reform.
 They are for the common people
     And they rant and rave and storm.
 
 Diagnosing the conditions
     They set forth the people’s ills,
 And they load the good old hopper
     With their remedial bills.
 
 For two weeks in January
     They kick up an awful dust,
 And they blow until you’re fearful
     That they’re really going to bust.
 
 Then they quiet down serenely
     And no longer tear their hair.
 And the folks in February
     Wonder if they are still there.
 
 Then the statesmen are forgotten
     Till, along in June we learn
 That the legislative body
     Is getting ready to adjourn.
 
 It is easy to make speeches
     And of grave reforms to shout,
 But it’s somewhat different when it
     Comes to carryin’ ‘em out.
 
 Promises are stock in trade with
     Statesmen who are seeking fame,
 But old Ultimate Consumer
     Keeps on digging just the same.