Life, 1916-06-08 · page 13 of 46
Life — June 8, 1916 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents a romantic poem rather than a political cartoon. The illustrated composition features a dreamy, idealized couple: a man at left (appearing to work or write) and a ethereal woman in flowing dress floating/dancing on the right. The poem itself is whimsical fantasy—the speaker pursues an elusive, enchanting woman who is "always just beyond you." She represents an unattainable romantic ideal: singing, perfumed, offering escape from mundane reality ("grinding tasks," "ledgers," "stocks"). The satire targets romantic delusion itself: the speaker chases impossible dreams and magical promises ("dancing through the farthest fairy sea") rather than confronting actual life's dullness. It's gentle mockery of romantic escapism as a coping mechanism for ordinary dissatisfaction. The decorative floral borders reinforce the dreamy, sentimental tone.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Romance Oo" she’s just around the corner, and she’s just beyond this street, And she's just across that hilltop over there! Can't you see the last glad glimmer of her ever-flying feet? Can't you smell the luring perfume of her hair? Why, she’s always just beyond you, always singing down the wind With a breath that’s raped from roses and a voice that's like a spell : Singing, singing—can’t you hear her?— Singing: “Come a little nearer! Follow, oh, so ttle faster; 1 am losing; come and find! Tam all the dreams you never dared to tell! “Tam youth and I am gladness; I’m adventure and I'm love; Iam flowers in the forest when the stars are all atune; Iam all those golden chances daily-work was heedless of ; Tam final; 1am fatal; [am June!” When the grinding tasks are dullest, and the world is gray routine, You can see her if you'll only raise your head; When the ledgers will not balance, or the firmest stocks careen, She is calling from the latest breeze that sped: “Come and find me, come and bind me, come and loose and fare with me; All I ask is that you cast all else away without regret; Though you sacrifice to capture, Lam roses; I am rapture; I will take you dancing—dancing—through the farthest fairy sea; I will teach you all the visions you forget!” Better follow ’round the corner; better run beyond the street; Better climb that highest hilltop over there; Though she slays you when you find her, there is nothing half so sweet As to strangle in the meshes of her hair! Reginald Wright Kauffman. comicbooks.com