Stones from The Quarry or, Moods of Mind. By Henry Browne [i.e. Henry Ellison] |
 |
|
THE BOOK YOU MAY HOLD OVER THE FIRE. |
|
 | Stones from The Quarry |  |
THE BOOK YOU MAY HOLD OVER THE FIRE.
Come to my hand once more, old well-thumbed book;Friend of my youth, companion of long years;
Thou hast soothed many aches, dried many tears;
From out thee as an old friend's eye doth look,
And opening thee, it is as if I took
An old friend by the hand: each page appears
Illuminated with joys, hopes, and fears,
(Like an old missal), clasped with Memory's lock.
Unlock thy heart, then! howsoe'er I be,
Sick, sad, or sorry, thou art still the same;
No flaws of temper, ups or downs with thee.
When Fortune, like a sorry jade, falls lame,
And hearts turn inside-out that we may see
Their hollowness, thou puttest them to shame!
| Stones from The Quarry | |