Life — September 5, 1918 — page 12: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "His Dolors" Analysis This is a satirical poem about childhood poverty, written by Mary Denween Parker. It traces the loss of five dollars through a series of mishaps: a bicycle accident, a broken neighbor's window, dog taxes, roller skates that killed a rooster, and finally a hole in the pocket that lost the last dollar (spent on Thrift Stamps). The accompanying illustration shows children in ragged clothes, depicting working-class childhood hardship. The poem satirizes both children's financial precariousness and the era's emphasis on thrift and saving—ironically titled "His Dolors" (sorrows/dollars pun). The dialogue below about striking during wartime references WWI labor debates about patriotism versus workers' rights—a contemporary political tension when this was published.