The Calling of the Links

The Calling of the Links

Tho' the telephone is ringing, 
And the typist ticks away; 
Tho' the office boy is bringing 
Lots of mail to me today, 
Something calls me, something lures me, 
Something whispers in my ear: 

"Come! the sun is out and shining! 
Come ! the sky is blue and clear!" 
{Oh, its harder, let me tell you, than anybody thinks. 
To resist that sweet, seductive voice, the calling of the 
links!) 

Here, with buying and with selling, 
Sordid things oppress the mind; 
There, fair nature has her dwelling 
And all cares are left behind. 
And the pleasure, beyond measure, 
Of free motion in the air — 
Good companions, pleasant breezes, 
And the greensward everywhere! 

{Oh, it's deep into my bosom that the country longing sinks. 
And I cannot choose but hear it — the calling of the links!) 

Shut the desk on all the letters! 
Let the dry old fogies frown 
(Though my elders and my betters). 
And farewell the dusty town ! 
Something calls me, and I'll answer. 
Something lures me and I fall; 
For the cry of "fore" is sounding. 
And the whizzing of the ball. 

(Oh, it's harder, let me tell you, than the dry old fogy thinks, 
To resist that sweet seductive voice, the calling of the links!) 

Anna Emilia Lang
from Lyrics of the Links, 1921