The Rubaiyat of Omar Cayenne

Minstrel Troupes and Negro Baritones
In its predestined race from Pole to Pole,

LXXVI

The Song had caught a Rag-Time girls could shout
And Piano-Organs make a Din about;
But syncopated Melodies at last
Will pass away, and more shall come, no doubt.

LXXVII

And this I know: though Vaudeville delight,
Musical Comedy can bore me quite;
One act of Ibsen from the Gallery caught,
Better than Daly for a festal Night!

LXXVIII

What! out of senseless Show-Girls to evoke
A Drama? Surely, I resent the Joke!
For me, it is not Pleasure, but a Pain--
An Everlasting Bore for decent Folk.

LXXIX

What, must the Theatre Manager be paid--
Our Gold for what his Carpenter has made--
Must we pay Stars we never did Contract,
And cannot hiss at?--Oh, the sorry trade!

LXXX

Oh Thou, who dost with cool sarcastic Grin
Scorn the poo