 | The poetical works of Lucy Larcom |  |
PRINCE HAL.
Prince Hal is a widow's baby;
His father he never knew.
In the waning of summer he opened
His eyes of the ocean's blue:
His father he never knew.
In the waning of summer he opened
His eyes of the ocean's blue:
And his mother with tender trouble
Gazed into their azure deep,
Whence the cloud of some unknown sorrow
Seemed, vague as a mist, to creep.
Gazed into their azure deep,
Whence the cloud of some unknown sorrow
Seemed, vague as a mist, to creep.
It broke on her heart in winter,—
A knell from the torrid isles
Where a death-sleep fell on her husband:
But the babe wore his father's smiles;
A knell from the torrid isles
Where a death-sleep fell on her husband:
But the babe wore his father's smiles;
And all who beheld him loved him—
Prince Hal, with the eyes of blue
Under the spirit-like forehead;—
Pale blossom of light and dew.
Prince Hal, with the eyes of blue
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Pale blossom of light and dew.
What recks Prince Hal of the season,
Enthroned on his mother's arm?
Thick snow through the air is falling,
But baby and bud are warm.
Enthroned on his mother's arm?
Thick snow through the air is falling,
But baby and bud are warm.
For buds are the nurslings of tempests,
And grief may cradle a joy.
On the widow's heart lies a sorrow
Whose age is the age of her boy.
And grief may cradle a joy.
On the widow's heart lies a sorrow
Whose age is the age of her boy.
But he, in the snow-wreath's glimmer,
Sees nothing but bloom and mirth.
To the royal soul of a baby
One fairy realm is the earth.
Sees nothing but bloom and mirth.
To the royal soul of a baby
One fairy realm is the earth.
Prince Hal, he is like his father,
As a prince resembles a king;
In the crown of a manly nature,
That is nobler than anything.
As a prince resembles a king;
In the crown of a manly nature,
That is nobler than anything.
For an empty crown is a bauble;
And he is a sovereign alone
Who lives to bring joy unto others,
And to make their trouble his own.
And he is a sovereign alone
Who lives to bring joy unto others,
And to make their trouble his own.
Prince Hal is the son of a widow;
His father went sailing away
To inherit a far-off kingdom:
The boy will follow, some day.
His father went sailing away
To inherit a far-off kingdom:
The boy will follow, some day.
Though his mother her lifelong sorrow
Measures out by his childish years,
Their length is the span of a rainbow
That bridges a gulf of tears.
Measures out by his childish years,
Their length is the span of a rainbow
That bridges a gulf of tears.
He has cheered us all, as a sunbeam
Strikes into the heart of a storm:
Through the gladness of little children
Are the frostiest lives kept warm.
Strikes into the heart of a storm:
Through the gladness of little children
Are the frostiest lives kept warm.
Prince Hal, they alone are true princes
Who make this old world bloom anew
With the grace and the glory of manhood:
Great things are expected of you!
Who make this old world bloom anew
With the grace and the glory of manhood:
Great things are expected of you!
| The poetical works of Lucy Larcom | |