 | 'Weh Down Souf and other Poems : |  |
97
GINGER SNAPS AND CIDER.
Again the Christmas time is here,
With joy in fullest measure,
And every fellow, great and small,
Is looking out for pleasure.
To me the days no brighter seem,
Although my vision's wider,
Than when I was a country lad,
With ginger snaps and cider.
With joy in fullest measure,
And every fellow, great and small,
Is looking out for pleasure.
To me the days no brighter seem,
Although my vision's wider,
Than when I was a country lad,
With ginger snaps and cider.
And when 'twas near “hog-killin' time,”
The world seemed to me bigger,
For Christmas then was on the way,
When I could cut a “figger;”
Most homely were the joys we had—
“Molasses stews” and “parties”—
But innocent the joy they gave,
With fun both pure and hearty.
The world seemed to me bigger,
For Christmas then was on the way,
When I could cut a “figger;”
Most homely were the joys we had—
“Molasses stews” and “parties”—
But innocent the joy they gave,
With fun both pure and hearty.
98
Long past is now this simple joy,
But, with the Christmas season,
Do I feel just as happy now,
And with as good a reason?
I wonder if my heart's as free
Now since my vision's wider,
As in those bygone Christmas days
Of ginger snaps and cider?
But, with the Christmas season,
Do I feel just as happy now,
And with as good a reason?
I wonder if my heart's as free
Now since my vision's wider,
As in those bygone Christmas days
Of ginger snaps and cider?
Am I now deaf to sorrow's cry,
Do I pass the poor unheeding?
Do I truly wish for them the joy
For which their hearts are pleading?
Do I delight to bring a smile,
And hearts cast down to brighten,
And sympathize with others' woes,
And help their lots to brighten?
Do I pass the poor unheeding?
Do I truly wish for them the joy
For which their hearts are pleading?
Do I delight to bring a smile,
And hearts cast down to brighten,
And sympathize with others' woes,
And help their lots to brighten?
As came the “God-Man” from above
To Bethl'hem's lowly manger,
To seek and save the wand'ring sheep,
The homeless and the stranger;
So be it ours some heart to cheer,
As comes this time of pleasure,
And fill the cup of lonely ones
With joy in fullest measure.
To Bethl'hem's lowly manger,
To seek and save the wand'ring sheep,
The homeless and the stranger;
99
As comes this time of pleasure,
And fill the cup of lonely ones
With joy in fullest measure.
Some sit to-day in gilded halls,
Secure from seeming troubles,
While others, with a single crust,
Are shiv'ring in their hovels.
We wonder oft why this is true—
But life, at best, is fleeting,
And oh, what recompense will come,
With heaven's eternal meeting.
Secure from seeming troubles,
While others, with a single crust,
Are shiv'ring in their hovels.
We wonder oft why this is true—
But life, at best, is fleeting,
And oh, what recompense will come,
With heaven's eternal meeting.
I sometimes think we're growing up
To be a wondrous people,
But yet, I fear, in building we're
Commencing with the steeple.
Without a basis broad and deep,
With virtue its foundation,
And truth and right as corner-stones,
We can not build a nation.
To be a wondrous people,
But yet, I fear, in building we're
Commencing with the steeple.
Without a basis broad and deep,
With virtue its foundation,
And truth and right as corner-stones,
We can not build a nation.
100
On social hops and fancy balls
Society now fattens,
But yet I find oft little souls
May dwell 'neath silks and satins;
Hypocrisy, deceit and lies
May mean our scope is wider,
But give me honest truth and love,
With ginger snaps and cider.
Society now fattens,
But yet I find oft little souls
May dwell 'neath silks and satins;
Hypocrisy, deceit and lies
May mean our scope is wider,
But give me honest truth and love,
With ginger snaps and cider.
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