Ballads for the Times (Now first collected,) Geraldine, A Modern Pyramid, Bartenus, A Thousand Lines, and other poems. By Martin F. Tupper. A new Edition, enlarged and revised |
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 | Ballads for the Times |  |
73
Welcome!
A Word to the Many.
Yes! welcome, right welcome—and give us your hand,—
I like not to stand in the cold!
If new friends are true friends I can't understand
Why hearts should hold back till they're old;
For life is so short, and there's so much to do,
And so many pleasures and cares—
And somewhere I've read that, though angels are few,
They're frequently met unawares!
I like not to stand in the cold!
If new friends are true friends I can't understand
Why hearts should hold back till they're old;
For life is so short, and there's so much to do,
And so many pleasures and cares—
And somewhere I've read that, though angels are few,
They're frequently met unawares!
The eye of sincerity shines like a star
Through the clouds of suspicion and doubt;
I love its fair lustre, and lure it from far,
And wouldn't for worlds put it out:
Away with such wisdom, as risking the chance
Of killing young love with old fears—
The face that is honest is known at a glance,
And needn't be studied for years!
Through the clouds of suspicion and doubt;
I love its fair lustre, and lure it from far,
And wouldn't for worlds put it out:
Away with such wisdom, as risking the chance
Of killing young love with old fears—
The face that is honest is known at a glance,
And needn't be studied for years!
And when petty Prudence would put me to school
About caution, and care, and all that,
I trust that, like some folks, I yield to the rule
Of wearing a head in my hat;
But more that remains is better than brains,
And I know not that some folks are blest
Like me, with a share in a custom more rare,
Of wearing a heart in the breast!
About caution, and care, and all that,
I trust that, like some folks, I yield to the rule
Of wearing a head in my hat;
But more that remains is better than brains,
And I know not that some folks are blest
Like me, with a share in a custom more rare,
Of wearing a heart in the breast!
74
Then come with all welcome! I fear not to fling
Reserve to the winds and the waves,
And never can cling to the cold-blooded thing
Society makes of its slaves:
Thou dignified dullard, so cloudy and cold,
Get out of the sunshine for me;
But, hearty good friend! whether new one or old,
A Welcome for Ever to thee!
Reserve to the winds and the waves,
And never can cling to the cold-blooded thing
Society makes of its slaves:
Thou dignified dullard, so cloudy and cold,
Get out of the sunshine for me;
But, hearty good friend! whether new one or old,
A Welcome for Ever to thee!
| Ballads for the Times | |