From "The New Spoon River" (1924) by Edgar Lee Masters.


160

*
Selma Lanstrum

I was a waitress at The Fulton,
He a conductor on the electric,
When they joined Chicago with Spoon River.
And going back and forth I saw him.
He was so kind and understanding,
He treated me like a woman of worth,
And looked at me with eyes so clear,
And strode the car so straight and strong,
He was a gentleman through and through,
Who seemed to be out of place.
I lost my heart, and lost it for good.
And when he vanished I couldn't sleep.
Why, long years after, seeing his picture
In a magazine, I cried so loud
My husband shook me and accused me,
And asked "Who's that?" "Who's that?" I said-
"Knut Hamsun, a famous writer."
*