BILLIE POTTS
And would not stop
And there is always the sound of breathing in the next room
And it will not stop
And the waitress says, "Will that be all, sir, will that be all?"
And will not stop
And the valet says, "Will that be all, sir, will that be all?"
And will not stop
For nothing is ever all and nothing is ever all,
65
For all your experience and your expertness of human vices and of
valor
At the hour when the ways are darkened.
Though your luck held and the market ·was always satisfactory,
Though the letter always came and your lovers were always true,
Though you always received·the respect due to your position,
Though your hand never failed of its cunning and your glands always
thoroughly knew their business,
Though your conscience was easy and you were assured of your
innocence,
You became gradually aware that something was missing from the
picture,
And upon closer inspection exclaimed: "Why I'm not in it at all!"
Which was perfectly true.
Therefore you tried to remember when you had last had whatever it
was you had lost,
But it was a long time back.
And you decided to retrace your steps from that point,
But it was a long way back.
It was, neveretheless, absolutely essential to make the effort,
And since you had never been a man to be deterred by difficult
circumstances,
You came back.
For there
is
no place like home.)
He joked them and he teased them and he had
his
fun
And they never guessed that he was the one
Had been Mammy's darling and Pappy's joy
When he was a great big whickering boy
