 | Collected poems of Thomas Hardy |  |
TO C. F. H.
ON HER CHRISTENING-DAY
Fair Caroline, I wonder what
You think of earth as a dwelling-spot,
And if you'd rather have come, or not?
You think of earth as a dwelling-spot,
And if you'd rather have come, or not?
To-day has laid on you a name
That, though unasked for, you will claim
Lifelong, for love or praise or blame.
That, though unasked for, you will claim
Lifelong, for love or praise or blame.
May chance and change impose on you
No heavier burthen than this new
Care-chosen one your future through!
No heavier burthen than this new
Care-chosen one your future through!
Dear stranger here, the prayer is mine
That your experience may combine
Good things with glad. . . . Yes, Caroline!
That your experience may combine
Good things with glad. . . . Yes, Caroline!
| Collected poems of Thomas Hardy | |