University of Virginia Library


97

MY OLD SHOES.

You're now too old for me to wear, poor shoes,
And yet I will not sell you to the Jews;
Yon wandering little boy must barefoot go,
Through mud and rain, and nipping frost and snow;
And as he walks along the road or street,
The flint is sharp, and cuts his tender feet.
My shoes, though old, might save him many a pain;
And should I sell them, what might be my gain?
A sixpence, that would buy some foolish toy:
No; take these shoes, poor shivering barefoot boy.