My Father-in-Law and I

MY father-in-law is a careworn man,
  And a silent man is he;
But he summons a smile as well as he can
  Whenever he meets with me.
The sign we make with a silent shake
  That speaks of the days gone by—
Like men who meet at a funeral—
  My father-in-law and I.

My father-in-law is a sober man
  (And a virtuous man, I think);
But we spare a shilling whenever we can,
  And we both drop in for a drink.
Our pints they fill, and we say, “Ah, well!”
  With the sound of the world-old sigh—
Like the drink that comes after a funeral—
  My father-in-law and I.

My father-in-law is a kindly man—
  A domestic man is he.
He tries to look cheerful as well as he can
  Whenever he meets with me.
But we stand and think till the second drink
  In a silence that might imply
That we’d both get over a funeral,
  My father-in-law and I.