 | Poems and verses by Mary Mapes Dodge |  |
204
A BIRTHDAY RHYME.
Tell me, O youth so straight and tall,
So glad with eager thought!
Have you seen of late a bouncing boy
Brimful of merry sport?
Brimful of merry sport is he,
A lad of fifteen summers,
With velvet lip still smooth and fair,
But a fist that awes all comers.
So glad with eager thought!
Have you seen of late a bouncing boy
Brimful of merry sport?
Brimful of merry sport is he,
A lad of fifteen summers,
With velvet lip still smooth and fair,
But a fist that awes all comers.
He used to laugh with unconcern
Whene'er a school-girl met him,
Unconscious quite what wondrous power
She 'd have in time to fret him.
He only cared for “fellows” then,
And “ball,” and “tag,” and “shinny,”
And thought a chap who brushed his hair
Was just a fop or ninny.
Whene'er a school-girl met him,
Unconscious quite what wondrous power
She 'd have in time to fret him.
He only cared for “fellows” then,
And “ball,” and “tag,” and “shinny,”
And thought a chap who brushed his hair
Was just a fop or ninny.
205
Somehow, I loved this bouncing boy
Because he was my own;
I had him here a year ago,
And know not where he 's flown.
I know not where he 's flown, and yet
Whenever you are near—
It 's very odd!—I 'm reconciled
Because you grow so dear.
Because he was my own;
I had him here a year ago,
And know not where he 's flown.
I know not where he 's flown, and yet
Whenever you are near—
It 's very odd!—I 'm reconciled
Because you grow so dear.
You bear great likeness to my boy
I think, and—strange the whim!—
There 's that in you which I have prayed
Might come in time to him.
Then if you'll stay, my dashing youth,
And love me like the other,
I'll let him go, and, clasping you,
Be still a happy mother.
I think, and—strange the whim!—
There 's that in you which I have prayed
Might come in time to him.
Then if you'll stay, my dashing youth,
And love me like the other,
I'll let him go, and, clasping you,
Be still a happy mother.
So hold me close, my bigger boy,
My larger-hearted Harry,
With broader shoulders, older head,
And more of life to carry;
Hold close, and whisper, heart to heart,
Our Lord has blessed us truly,
Since every year we love so well
And find it out so newly.
My larger-hearted Harry,
With broader shoulders, older head,
And more of life to carry;
206
Our Lord has blessed us truly,
Since every year we love so well
And find it out so newly.
With deepened joy and prayerful love,
All in the autumn's splendor,
I hail you, boy of mine, and give
A welcome proud and tender.
'T is grand to take the birthdays in,
If, while the years we 're counting,
In heart and soul, in hope and aim,
We steadily are mounting.
All in the autumn's splendor,
I hail you, boy of mine, and give
A welcome proud and tender.
'T is grand to take the birthdays in,
If, while the years we 're counting,
In heart and soul, in hope and aim,
We steadily are mounting.
| Poems and verses by Mary Mapes Dodge | |