A Tip From Charon To Thomas Jefferson
Was it just coincidence or the work of hidden powers
that Jefferson and John Adams passed on within few hours
on a very weighty date indeed , which was July the fourth,
a day of celebration uniting south and north,
and furthermore a jubilee that fell this selfsame year,
In eighteen twenty-six, a time of joy and cheer?
Monroe, fifth president in line, died on the selfsame date,
though in his case I have to say he was a few years late.
At length Tom Jefferson woke up from a state like sleep,
and felt the urge to wander off and grant himself a peep.
Would Charon, grave ferryman, let him cross the Stygian brook?
The sullen figure thereupon, with a bleak and doleful look,
warned the hopeful president he’d be in for a nasty shock
once Charon’s bark had landed him close to the Plymouth rock..
Though America had outlived wars and then a mighty slump,
he was less sure of its chances at the blast of the final trump.
It might therefore be wiser to rest up in heaven or hell
than on earth to witness the toll of the Liberty’ knell.
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