Life, 1921-10-20 · page 3 of 34
Life — October 20, 1921 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This poem and cartoon satirize the romantic idealization of rural life by office workers. The poem mocks the notion that city professionals could abandon their jobs for pastoral bliss—repeatedly asking "but would they keep?" each romantic scenario, ultimately concluding "I'd lose my job." The cartoon illustrates this tension: a couple in an automobile speeds past a rural homestead, apparently eloping. A police officer attempts to stop them, but the driver dismisses the traffic violation, claiming they're rushing to get married and didn't notice their speed. The satire targets the fantasy of escaping white-collar respectability versus the practical realities of employment and social obligation that trap modern workers in their routines.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
White-Collar Pastoral Morris Bishop WOULD bring you purple roses from I would waft you to a meadow where the the meads below Parnassus, blue forget-me-not would And bear you crowns of lilies from the Provide for you a pillow; and through- Heliconian steep, out the golden day And _passion-dripping orchids from the I'd sing you songs of lovers old in Arcady— Congo’s dank morasses— but what would But would they keep? People say? I would woo you in the wildwood where the Meenad's sacred ring is, With vine-leaves in our hair we'd join the headlong midnight mob, And chant the praise of Bacchus on his throne—the only thing is I'd lose my job. “I'm sorry, Officer. We're running away to get married and I didn’t realize how fast we were going.” “All right, I'll let ye off. Say! I don’t blame ye for bein’ in a hurry.” comicbooks.com