Tropical constitutions Call for occasional revolutions; But after that's through, Why there's nothing to do But smoke--smoke; For life in the tropics is only a joke, So we pass it in dreams, and we pass it in smoke, Smoke--smoke--smoke. III _Teestay_ Of tropic sensations, the worst Is, _sin duda_, the tropical thirst. When it starts in your throat and constantly grows, Till you feel that it reaches down to your toes, When your mouth tastes like fur And your tongue turns to dust, There's but one thing to do, And do it you must, Drink _teestay_. _Teestay_, a drink with a history, A delicious, delectable mystery, "_Cinco centavos el vaso, senor_," If you take one, you will surely want more. _Teestay, teestay_, The national drink on a feast day; How it coolingly tickles, As downward it trickles, _Teestay, teestay_. And you wish, as you take it down at a quaff, That your neck was constructed a la giraffe. _Teestay, teestay_. IV _The Lottery Girl_ "Lottery, lottery, Take a chance at the lottery? Take a ticket, Or, better, take two; Who knows what the future May hold for you? Lottery, lottery, Take a chance at the lottery?" Oh, limpid-eyed girl, I would take every chance, If only the prize Were a love-flashing glance From your fathomless eyes. "Lottery, lottery, Try your luck at the lottery? Consider the size Of the capital prize, And take tickets For the lottery. Tickets, _senor_? Tickets, _senor_? Take a chance at the lottery?" Oh, crimson-lipped girl, With the magical smile, I would count that the gamble Were well worth the while, Not a chance would I miss, If only the prize Were a honey-bee kiss Gathered in sips From those full-ripened lips, And a love-flashing glance From your eyes. V _The Dancing Girl_ Do you know what it is to dance? Perhaps, you do know, in a fashion; But by dancing I mean, Not what's generally seen, But dancing of fire and passion, Of fire and delirious passion. With a dusky-haired _senorita_, Her dark, misty eyes near your own, And her scarlet-red mouth, Like a rose of the south, The reddest that ever was grown, So close that you catch Her quick-panting breath As across your own face it is blown, With a sigh, and a moan. Ah! that is dancing, As here by the Carib it's known. Now, whirling and twirling Like furies we go; Now, soft and caressing And sinuously slow; With an undulating motion, Like waves on a breeze-kissed ocean:-- And the scarlet-red mouth Is nearer your own, And the dark, misty eyes Still softer have grown. Ah! that is dancing, that is loving, As here by the Carib they're known. VI _Sunset in the Tropics_