 | A Flight of Fancies |  |
106
THE BITTER WEED
Children!
Here's a world with roses in it,Love-lies-bleeding, larkspur, linnet,
Streams to gurgle at a bend,
Buttercups with gold to spend,
Moss as velvety as bees,
Squirrels in a town of trees,
Lavender that laughs at death,
Mortal, with immortal breath;
Yet I see, in sharp surprise,
Pouting lips and narrowing eyes!
Children!
Here's a world with Father in it,Mother, wondering every minute
How to guard you, how to bless,
How to use unselfishness;
Cousin Edie, Auntie Nell,
Uncle, who is quick to tell
What his private fairy, Dew,
Bids him rhyme and print for you;
Yet I see, in sharp surprise,
Pouting lips and narrowing eyes!
107
Quarrel?
Which of you will try to mend itBravely with a kiss, and end it,
Turning back to Love, who crept
Out of hearing while she wept?
Quarrel is a bitter weed
Sprouting, from a tiny seed,
Faster than the plant of Joy
Grows to bless a girl and boy.
Molly, Gordon, Nancy, Ned,
All together! Kiss it dead!
| A Flight of Fancies | |