MAXIMILIAN MARVELOUS
"Maximilian Marvelous," we called him for a joke;
He used to pass us every day, but rarely ever spoke.
The shoes he wore were scandalous —they did not fit his feet;
In tattered coat and greasy shirt he shuffled down the street.
When once we stopped Max solemnly, to pass the time of day,
He looked at us, half-doubting, in a hesitating way,
And when we asked him if t'were true that he was once a king
Of some forgotten island, where the South Sea maidens sing,
Lo! Maximilian Marvelous gave us a withering smile.
I'll ne'er forget his answer, as it came in vigorous style:
"I am a king of everything my roving eyes survey.
My kingdom's built of sun-lit bowers where little children play,
My sceptre's made of jeweled song that wakes old village lanes,
My banquet hall is piled with dreams that romp in April rains.
The great, wide world is my estate, but here I choose to 'bide,
I married Lady Poverty, and I am satisfied.