 | Early and late poems of Alice and Phoebe Cary |  |
144
NANNIE.
I can remember when our roof
Would not keep out the rain;
We have been very poor, Nannie,
I wish we were again!
Would not keep out the rain;
We have been very poor, Nannie,
I wish we were again!
For when the frosty autumn came,
And all the oaks had bled
Their piteous hearts into the leaves
Until the woods were red,
And all the oaks had bled
Their piteous hearts into the leaves
Until the woods were red,
I never felt the chill, Nannie,
And never feared the storm;
Your love was better than a cloak
To keep me safe and warm.
And never feared the storm;
Your love was better than a cloak
To keep me safe and warm.
And sometimes in the winter days
I 've almost felt the glow
Of fire-light, as I stooped to write
Your name upon the snow.
I 've almost felt the glow
Of fire-light, as I stooped to write
Your name upon the snow.
Now all is changed. The hills are gone
Where gently every night
The cows were used to stoop their necks
Beneath your hands so white.
Where gently every night
The cows were used to stoop their necks
Beneath your hands so white.
The red rose through the broken pane
Leans tenderly no more
To see the sunshine's golden rule
Along the ashen floor.
Leans tenderly no more
To see the sunshine's golden rule
Along the ashen floor.
145
And you never sit upon my knee,
And never make me sure
You love me just as well as in
The days when we were poor.
And never make me sure
You love me just as well as in
The days when we were poor.
| Early and late poems of Alice and Phoebe Cary | |