Endurance

YOU never hear a woman boast Of her endurance, yet I vow The tiniest mite o' a woman has More courage than a man, somehow. Lor' bless me, when I hear a man A-braggin' how he kep' right on A pluggin', fightin' to'ards his goal, With all his hope of winnin' gone, A-puffin' out his chest with pride, It makes me smile, becoz I know If he 'd a woman's cross t' bear, 'At he 'd a give up long ago. It 'pears t' me 'at woman is Jes' equal parts o' nerve an' grit; There is no task too great fer her, She doesn't know such word as quit. I've seen her when I knew her strength Was failin' faster every day, Still workin' on without complaint, Findin', in some mysterious way, The power t' overcome her aches, An' all the weariness she knows. Endurance! Not bin' ever yet Has equaled what a woman shows! An' when her back was like t' break, An' man would plumb discouraged be, I've heard a little woman say: 'The children need so much from me I've got t' work,' an' then she 'd start Washin' an mendin' little clo'es; An' then sit up till late at night Darnin' the holes in little hose. It mattered not how sick she wuz, No task o' hers she ever shirked, When man would quit an' go t' bed That little woman bravely worked. An' so it allus makes me smile T' hear a man git up an' say 'T is wonderful what he endured, An' how he worked from day t' day; An' then t' tell in boastin' style The hardships that he underwent, Explainin' how he kep' his nerve Although his strength was nearly spent. For when it comes t' downright grit, An' bearin' troubles great an' small, An' winnin' spite of everything, A little woman beats 'em all.