Lyrics of the heart With other poems. By Alaric A. Watts. With forty-one engravings on steel |
 |
TO A CHILD,
AFTER AN INTERVAL OF ABSENCE. |
 | Lyrics of the heart |  |
135
TO A CHILD, AFTER AN INTERVAL OF ABSENCE.
I miss thee from my side,
With thy merry eyes and blue;
From thy crib at morning-tide,
Oft its curtains peeping through;
In the kisses, not a few,
Thou wert wont to give me then;
In thy sleepy sad adieu,
When 'twas time for bed again!
With thy merry eyes and blue;
From thy crib at morning-tide,
Oft its curtains peeping through;
In the kisses, not a few,
Thou wert wont to give me then;
In thy sleepy sad adieu,
When 'twas time for bed again!
I miss thee from my side,
With thy question oft repeated;
On thy rocking-horse astride,
Or beneath my table seated:
Or, when tired and overheated
With a summer-day's delight,
Many a childish aim defeated,
Sleep hath overpowered thee quite!
With thy question oft repeated;
On thy rocking-horse astride,
Or beneath my table seated:
Or, when tired and overheated
With a summer-day's delight,
Many a childish aim defeated,
Sleep hath overpowered thee quite!
136
I miss thee from my side,
When brisk Punch is at the door;
Vainly pummels he his bride,
Judy's wrongs can charm no more!
He may beat her till she's sore,
She may die, and he may flee;
Though I loved their squalls of yore,
What's the pageant now to me!
When brisk Punch is at the door;
Vainly pummels he his bride,
Judy's wrongs can charm no more!
He may beat her till she's sore,
She may die, and he may flee;
Though I loved their squalls of yore,
What's the pageant now to me!
I miss thee from my side,
When the light of day grows pale;
When with eyelids opened wide,
Thou wouldst list the oft-told tale,
And the murdered babes bewail;
Yet so greedy of thy pain,
That, when all my lore would fail,
I must needs begin again!
When the light of day grows pale;
When with eyelids opened wide,
Thou wouldst list the oft-told tale,
And the murdered babes bewail;
Yet so greedy of thy pain,
That, when all my lore would fail,
I must needs begin again!
I miss thee from my side,
Blithe cricket of my hearth!
Oft in secret have I sighed
For thy chirping voice of mirth:
When the low-born cares of earth
Chill my heart, and dim my eye,
Grief is stifled in its birth,
If my little prattler's nigh!
Blithe cricket of my hearth!
Oft in secret have I sighed
For thy chirping voice of mirth:
When the low-born cares of earth
Chill my heart, and dim my eye,
Grief is stifled in its birth,
If my little prattler's nigh!
137
I miss thee from my side,
With thy bright, ingenuous smile;
With thy glance of infant pride,
And the face no tears defile:—
Stay, and other hearts beguile,
Hearts that prize thee fondly too;
I must spare thy pranks awhile;
Cricket of my hearth, adieu!
With thy bright, ingenuous smile;
With thy glance of infant pride,
And the face no tears defile:—
Stay, and other hearts beguile,
Hearts that prize thee fondly too;
I must spare thy pranks awhile;
Cricket of my hearth, adieu!
| Lyrics of the heart | |