Schroeder the Fisherman + 

I sat on the bank above Bernadotte + 

And dropped crumbs in the water, + 

Just to see the minnows bump each other, + 

Until the strongest got the prize. + 

Or I went to my little pasture, + 

Where the peaceful swine were asleep in the wallow, + 

Or nosing each other lovingly, + 

And emptied a basket of yellow corn, + 

And watched them push and squeal and bite, + 

And trample each other to get the corn. + 

And I saw how Christian Dallman’s farm, + 

Of more than three thousand acres, + 

Swallowed the patch of Felix Schmidt, + 

As a bass will swallow a minnow. + 

And I say if there’s anything in man⁠— + 

Spirit, or conscience, or breath of God + 

That makes him different from fishes or hogs, + 

I’d like to see it work! + 