HE Let us be friends. My life is sad and lonely, While yours with love is beautiful and bright.
Some cawing Crows, a hooting Owl, A Hawk, a Canary, an old Marsh-Fowl, One day all meet together
Do you think, dear, as you say Such a light good-bye to-day, That this parting time may be
One night Nurse Sleep held out her hand To tired little May. "Come, go with me to Wonderland,"
Well, Mabel, 'tis over and ended - The ball I wrote was to be; And oh! it was perfectly splendid -
If all the year was summer time, And all the aim of life Was just to lilt on like a rhyme,
However the battle is ended, Though proudly the victor comes With fluttering flags and prancing nags
For 'Mabel Brown' I never cared (My rightful name by birth), But when the name of Smith I shared,
Good-bye - yes, I am going. Sudden? Well, you are right; But a startling truth came home to me
What is the end of each man's toil, Brother, O Brother? A handful of dust in a bit of soil -
WIFE Reach out your arms, and hold me close and fast. Tell me there are no memories of your past
When in the even ways of life The old world jogs along, Our little coloured flags we flaunt:
Camouflage is all the rage. Ladies in their fight with age - Soldiers in their fight with foes -
Kiss me, sweetheart. One by one Swift and sure the moments run. Soon, too soon, for you and me
I want more lives in which to love This world so full of beauty, I want more days to use the ways
Flowers of France in the Spring, Your growth is a beautiful thing; But give us your fragrance and bloom -
The day is at its golden height, No shadow falls on sea or land; And yet to thee I say Good night,
Upon the white cheek of the Cherub Year I saw a tear. Alas! I murmured, that the Year should borrow
Upon the white cheek of the Cherub Year I saw a tear. Alas! I murmured, that the Year should borrow
The sands upon the ocean side That change about with every tide, And never true to one abide,
Here, in the heart of the world, Here, in the noise and the din, Here, where our spirits were hurled
Here, in the heart of the world, Here, in the noise and the din, Here, where our spirits were hurled
I know not whence I came, I know not whither I go; But the fact stands clear that I am here
I know not whence I came, I know not whither I go; But the fact stands clear that I am here
If all the troubles in the world Were traced back to their start, We'd find not one in ten begun
Death! I know not what room you are abiding in, But I will go my way, Rejoicing day by day,
God and I in space alone And nobody else in view. "And where are the people, O Lord," I said,
I We cannot choose our sorrows. One there was Who, reverent of soul, and strong with trust,
Oh! we are a lone, lost nation, We, who sing your songs. With his moods, and his desolation
Once in the world's first prime, When nothing lived or stirred - Nothing but new-born Time,
Luck is the tuning of our inmost thought To chord with God's great plan. That done, ah! know,
PART I. I sat and sewed, and sang some tender tune, Oh, beauteous was that morn in early June!
Though with gods the world is cumbered, Gods unnamed, and gods unnumbered, Never god was known to be
Though with gods the world is cumbered, Gods unnamed, and gods unnumbered, Never god was known to be
When with clanging and with ringing Comes the year's initial day, I can feel the rhythmic swinging
Our petty cares wear on us so, - More cruel than our great despairs, More rasping than a mighty woe,
Our souls should be vessels receiving The waters of love for relieving The sorrows of men.
Over the banisters bends a face, Daringly sweet and beguiling. Somebody stands in careless grace,
I do not undertake to say That literal answers come from Heaven, But I know this - that when I pray
Hers was a lonely, shadowed lot; Or so the unperceiving thought, Who looked no deeper than her face,
He slept as weary toilers do, She gazed up at the moon. He stirred and said, "Wife, come to bed";
Over and over and over These truths I will weave in song - That God's great plan needs you and me,
The day has been wild and stormy, And full of the wind's unrest, And I sat down alone by the window,
We stood by the river that swept In its glory and grandeur away; But never a pulse o' me leapt,
As you forgot I may forget, When summer dews cease to be wet. When whippoorwills disdain the night,
I am sorry in the gladness Of the joys that crown my days, For the souls that sit in sadness
When the Summer sun is shining, And the green things push and grow, Oft my heart runs over measure,
We walk on starry fields of white And do not see the daisies, For blessings common in our sight
'What do I hear at the window? Did some one call me?' Nay, It was only the wind, my darling,
With brooding mien and sultry eyes, Outside the gates of Paradise Eve sat, and fed the faggot flame
All wantonly in hours of joy, I made a song of pain. Soon Grief drew near, and paused to hear,
Oh! not for the great departed, Who formed our country's laws, And not for the bravest-hearted,
I was smoking a cigarette; Maud, my wife, and the tenor, McKey, Were singing together a blithe duet,
Through the open door of dreamland Came a ghost of long ago, long ago. When I wakened, all unheeding
There was no wind, and yet the air Seemed suddenly astir; There were no forms, and yet all space
All your wonderful inventions, All your houses vast and tall, All your great gun-fronted vessels,
I cried, 'Dear Angel, lead me to the heights, And spur me to the top.' The Angel answered, 'Stop
This is the world's stupendous hour - The supreme moment for the race To see the emptiness of power,
There are, there are Invisible Great Helpers of the race. Across unatlased continents of space,
'Oh life is wonderful,' she said, 'And all my world is bright; Can Paradise show fairer skies,
There's many a house of grandeur, With turret, tower and dome, That knows not peace or comfort,
I have not the gift of vision, I have not the psychic ear, And the realms that are called Elysian
She rose up in the early dawn, And white and silently she moved About the house. Four men had gone
I know the need of the world, Though it would not have me know. It would hide its sorrow deep,
I thought my heart was death chilled, I thought its fires were cold; But the new love, the new love,
Angel of Peace, the hounds of war, Unleashed, are all abroad, And war's foul trade again is made
You remember the hall on the corner? To-night as I walked down street I heard the sound of music,
Do you know what moves the tides As they swing from low to high? 'Tis the love, love, love,
I will paint you a sign, rumseller, And hang it above your door; A truer and better signboard
I Here are the orchard trees all large with fruit; And yonder fields are golden with young grain.
Oh, vain is the stern protesting Of winds, when the tide runs high; And vainly the deep-sea waters
Much may be done with the world we are in, Much with the race to better it; We can unfetter it,
Thoughts do not need the wings of words To fly to any goal. Like subtle lightnings, not like birds,
My love is young, so young; Young is her cheek, and her throat, And life is a song to be sung
I know it is early morning, And hope is calling aloud, And your heart is afire with Youth's desire
She waited in a rose-hued room; A wanton-hearted creature she, But beautiful and bright to see
(Suggested by the lives of Napoleon and Josephine.) I. One night was full of rapture and delight -
Two sat down in the morning time, One to sing and one to spin. All men listened the song sublime -
There is something in the sound of drum and fife That stirs all the savage instincts into life.
I What have you done, and what are you doing with life, O Man! O Average Man of the world -
Why do I love my sweetheart? Well I really never tried to tell. I love her mayhap for her smile,
Do you wish the world were better? Let me tell you what to do: Set a watch upon your actions,
With every rising of the sun Think of your life as just begun. The past has shrived and buried deep