 | The Poems of Mackenzie Bell |  |
138
POEMS FOR SCHOOL RECITATION.
Standards I. and II.
LITTLE AMY TO HER FLOWERS.
I.—To the Violet.
I love you, little violet,Your beauty I shall not forget;
You smell so sweet, you are so blue,
Under the hedge the springtime through.
II.—To the Daffodils.
You pretty little daffodils
Beside the budding trees;
I love to watch your yellow heads
A-nodding in the breeze.
Beside the budding trees;
I love to watch your yellow heads
A-nodding in the breeze.
I love to touch with tenderness
Or smell all springtide flowers,
But most I love you, daffodils,
A-stir in sunny hours.
Or smell all springtide flowers,
But most I love you, daffodils,
A-stir in sunny hours.
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III.—To a Drooping Plant.
Drooping plant, your pretty flower
Wants the sunshine, wants the shower,
And the happy, balmy day
Of the summer, passed away.
Wants the sunshine, wants the shower,
And the happy, balmy day
Of the summer, passed away.
Do you dread the wintry blast
Whirling round you, fierce and fast,
And the snow-drift, cruel, cold,
Gathering now upon the wold?
Whirling round you, fierce and fast,
And the snow-drift, cruel, cold,
Gathering now upon the wold?
Do you dread the frosty night,
Bringing with it bitter blight,
Like a giant holding all
Captive in his icy thrall?
Bringing with it bitter blight,
Like a giant holding all
Captive in his icy thrall?
Yet dream not that Hope is past
Winter will not always last;
Soon his dreary reign will close,
Soon comes Spring to end your woes.
Winter will not always last;
Soon his dreary reign will close,
Soon comes Spring to end your woes.
Soon will come the gentle breeze
Whispering softly through the trees,
And the happy lengthening day
Making all the gardens gay.
Whispering softly through the trees,
And the happy lengthening day
Making all the gardens gay.
140
LITTLE BERTIE.
(His Mother Speaks).
I.
Rest you in quiet now, my baby boy,
You are in truth your parents' highest joy;—
For though our home has ever been a place
Where Happiness has deigned to show her face,
Yet still your birth increased its bliss much more,
And filled a void there was in it before.
You are in truth your parents' highest joy;—
For though our home has ever been a place
Where Happiness has deigned to show her face,
Yet still your birth increased its bliss much more,
And filled a void there was in it before.
O may your life continue ever free
From taint of shame, whate'er your lot may be:
As spotless as the snow-drops oft appear
When first they come to tell us Spring is near:
Such is my wish for you, my jewel prized;
May I yet live to see it realized.
From taint of shame, whate'er your lot may be:
As spotless as the snow-drops oft appear
When first they come to tell us Spring is near:
Such is my wish for you, my jewel prized;
May I yet live to see it realized.
II.
Your mother's love is tender, true, and kind,
From all the dross of selfishness refined;
In childhood's years it is a tender guide
To keep you safe from harm on every side;
And when your childhood's cherished days are passed,
'Twill help you to endure the world's rough blast.
From all the dross of selfishness refined;
In childhood's years it is a tender guide
To keep you safe from harm on every side;
And when your childhood's cherished days are passed,
'Twill help you to endure the world's rough blast.
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Her love abides; hallowed by memory still,
Through joy or sorrow, happiness or ill;
And, like some flower, growth of a holier sphere,
To gladden earth awhile, transplanted here,
'Twill shed its fragrance still o'er all your ways
And cheer your drooping heart in life's dark days.
Through joy or sorrow, happiness or ill;
And, like some flower, growth of a holier sphere,
To gladden earth awhile, transplanted here,
'Twill shed its fragrance still o'er all your ways
And cheer your drooping heart in life's dark days.
| The Poems of Mackenzie Bell | |