 | Short poems for short people |  |
89
SANTA CLAUS.
He journeys a guest
To our gladdened west,
In the gay memorial season,
At the merry time of chime and rhyme,
When pleasure romps with reason.
To our gladdened west,
In the gay memorial season,
At the merry time of chime and rhyme,
When pleasure romps with reason.
Strange tales we know
Of his beard of snow
And the reindeer-steeds that draw him,
But never a man there lives who can
Affirm that he ever saw him.
Of his beard of snow
And the reindeer-steeds that draw him,
But never a man there lives who can
Affirm that he ever saw him.
Always he pays,
In secret ways,
Those visits that delight us,
And drops by stealth his Christmas-wealth,
Too cautious to affright us.
In secret ways,
Those visits that delight us,
And drops by stealth his Christmas-wealth,
Too cautious to affright us.
And though unseen,
Where his hands have been
Rare gladness follows after,
While his praises float from many a throat
In ripples of mellow laughter.
Where his hands have been
Rare gladness follows after,
While his praises float from many a throat
In ripples of mellow laughter.
90
To us his name
Means more than fame,
With fairest memories round it;
He loveth well the Christmas-bell,—
O bid our steeples sound it!
Means more than fame,
With fairest memories round it;
He loveth well the Christmas-bell,—
O bid our steeples sound it!
And warm and free
Let the greeting be
As the flames of our brightest ingle;
For he comes a guest whither every breast
Pays homage to Kris Kringle!
Let the greeting be
As the flames of our brightest ingle;
For he comes a guest whither every breast
Pays homage to Kris Kringle!
| Short poems for short people | |