DO you remember the cardinal’s call,
Brother O’ mine?
The hills that we climbed, be they ever so tall,
With never a fear for a hurt or a fall,
Wondering ever if skies did fall,
Brother O’ mine.
Brother O’ mine?
The hills that we climbed, be they ever so tall,
With never a fear for a hurt or a fall,
Wondering ever if skies did fall,
Brother O’ mine.
Many a hill we’ve climbed since then,
Brother O’ mine.
Been pelted with roses and rinsed with the rain
Of our sorrowing teardrops time and again;
Despair in our hearts and a clutch of pain,
Brother O’ mine.
Brother O’ mine.
Been pelted with roses and rinsed with the rain
Of our sorrowing teardrops time and again;
Despair in our hearts and a clutch of pain,
Brother O’ mine.
Dream
THE flowers upon my lady’s hat,
Kept bobbing so this way then that,
Until the Church seemed faint and blurred
The morning Psalms I scarcely heard.
Unless I see I cannot hear,
So, I just admired that flower so near.
’Twas unlike any bloom that blows
On trees or waves in garden rows,
Where clings the morning glory vine
Or beds of phlox or columbine,
Like nothing in the drowsy south
With love songs oozing from its mouth,
In all the languorous, summer noons
Or riotous breaths of all perfumes,
Like nothing in my garden bed
Of flowers washed blue or drenched red;
Peculiarly designed it sat
And nodded on my lady’s hat.
I summoned all my powers to wit
But could not find a name for it.
Kept bobbing so this way then that,
Until the Church seemed faint and blurred
The morning Psalms I scarcely heard.
Unless I see I cannot hear,
So, I just admired that flower so near.
’Twas unlike any bloom that blows
On trees or waves in garden rows,
Where clings the morning glory vine
Or beds of phlox or columbine,
Like nothing in the drowsy south
With love songs oozing from its mouth,
In all the languorous, summer noons
Or riotous breaths of all perfumes,
Like nothing in my garden bed
Of flowers washed blue or drenched red;
Peculiarly designed it sat
And nodded on my lady’s hat.
I summoned all my powers to wit
But could not find a name for it.
I sought my couch with troubled breast,
I could not from my memory wrest
The name of that tormenting bloom,
Till wearied tossing, then I swooned
Into forgetfulness and dreamed
Of lands beyond where sunlight streamed,
In gardens where an angel talked
In soft glad whispers as he walked.
And touched each blossoming bud and bell
With pride and love ineffable.
But one he loved beyond compare;
He stooped and kissed the petals rare.
With eagerness I did persist
To see the flower the angel kissed.
And there it grew a thing intact,
The flower upon my lady’s hat.
It stood a straight slim tossing flame
And I had yet to learn its name.
With this in mind I tried to talk,
But the angel only sped his walk.
I could have cried for very shame,
Then someone called me by my name.
The room was pink with morning light,
Because dreams vanish with the night;
And things are not what they seem,
I called the little flower “dream.”
I could not from my memory wrest
The name of that tormenting bloom,
Till wearied tossing, then I swooned
Into forgetfulness and dreamed
Of lands beyond where sunlight streamed,
In gardens where an angel talked
In soft glad whispers as he walked.
And touched each blossoming bud and bell
With pride and love ineffable.
But one he loved beyond compare;
He stooped and kissed the petals rare.
With eagerness I did persist
To see the flower the angel kissed.
And there it grew a thing intact,
The flower upon my lady’s hat.
It stood a straight slim tossing flame
And I had yet to learn its name.
With this in mind I tried to talk,
But the angel only sped his walk.
I could have cried for very shame,
Then someone called me by my name.
The room was pink with morning light,
Because dreams vanish with the night;
And things are not what they seem,
I called the little flower “dream.”
Shine and Shower
IT’S the cross that makes the triumph
A glorious thing to share,
It’s the sweet behind the bitter
Makes the burden light to bear.
It’s the shine past all the raining
Of the heart-break and the tear,
It’s the faith in dim tomorrow’s
Clears the mist from yesteryears.
A glorious thing to share,
It’s the sweet behind the bitter
Makes the burden light to bear.
It’s the shine past all the raining
Of the heart-break and the tear,
It’s the faith in dim tomorrow’s
Clears the mist from yesteryears.
Lines to Death
THE harp like strings of destiny
Stretched taut awhile, then broke,
So life gives o’er the battle
To death’s relentless stroke.
Stretched taut awhile, then broke,
So life gives o’er the battle
To death’s relentless stroke.
What’s wealth with all its glitter
When the sands of life are spent?
It cannot unfold the curtain
Of that solitary tent.
When the sands of life are spent?
It cannot unfold the curtain
Of that solitary tent.
Fame is just a tempting bauble
That comes when least we call,
And fate stands thus dividing
Rain and roses ’mongst us all.
That comes when least we call,
And fate stands thus dividing
Rain and roses ’mongst us all.
Life is just a few short summers,
Breath of roses and a prayer.
Then a little tent to sleep in
When we grow too tired to care.
Breath of roses and a prayer.
Then a little tent to sleep in
When we grow too tired to care.
To the New Year
THIS morning when I saw you
Looking into my bedroom window,
I thought that I disliked you very much,
For all I could see
You very much resembled other days
Spotless and so wholesome,
With all your tinsel bright,
But, your beauty touched me not at all.
But I decided to put up with you
As one would with strange, unwelcome guests.
I turned you around and about many, many times,
As a child would a new toy.
You were a lovely sight,
And yet I felt a bit depressed,
Till of a sudden I thought
I saw you smile.
Or was it only fancy?
Then I gave you my profoundest thought
For a short while.
And way down in your remotest depths
Great possibilities looked out at me,
And I thought of all the things you might do
For this restless world.
So I fell in love with you,
Before you were a half hour old.
Looking into my bedroom window,
I thought that I disliked you very much,
For all I could see
You very much resembled other days
Spotless and so wholesome,
With all your tinsel bright,
But, your beauty touched me not at all.
But I decided to put up with you
As one would with strange, unwelcome guests.
I turned you around and about many, many times,
As a child would a new toy.
You were a lovely sight,
And yet I felt a bit depressed,
Till of a sudden I thought
I saw you smile.
Or was it only fancy?
Then I gave you my profoundest thought
For a short while.
And way down in your remotest depths
Great possibilities looked out at me,
And I thought of all the things you might do
For this restless world.
So I fell in love with you,
Before you were a half hour old.
Homesickness
THE folks whom we visit, but once in a while
Those friends who are far, far away,
May be thoughtful and generous indeed to a fault
And kindness itself every day.
Not even the hills with the mist on the top
And the sun shooting flames ’cross the loam,
Can make me forget, nor still the wild fret
In my heart for the place I call home.
Those friends who are far, far away,
May be thoughtful and generous indeed to a fault
And kindness itself every day.
Not even the hills with the mist on the top
And the sun shooting flames ’cross the loam,
Can make me forget, nor still the wild fret
In my heart for the place I call home.
The valleys like Eden are misty and deep:
They are washed with the dews of the morn.
They but serve to depress me and make me a prey
To longings both sad and forlorn.
The lilt of the trees and the song of the birds
Once so cheery have sobered their tone,
For my heartstrings are tied, to a little fireside
In a place that I love to call home.
They are washed with the dews of the morn.
They but serve to depress me and make me a prey
To longings both sad and forlorn.
The lilt of the trees and the song of the birds
Once so cheery have sobered their tone,
For my heartstrings are tied, to a little fireside
In a place that I love to call home.
To Love
THO’ I am slow of speech, it matters not,
For this I know you feel and understand.
Tho’ break I at your nearness, yet I draw apart,
With wonder at the touches of your hand.
For this I know you feel and understand.
Tho’ break I at your nearness, yet I draw apart,
With wonder at the touches of your hand.
Your eager eyes, so near my drooping lids
Appraise my flushes, and you understand
How fain I am to go, yet do draw near,
And tremble at the touches of your hands.
Appraise my flushes, and you understand
How fain I am to go, yet do draw near,
And tremble at the touches of your hands.
Your Friend
THO’ you’re a heathen to the core
And cause him untold pain,
He knows everything about you
But loves you just the same.
And cause him untold pain,
He knows everything about you
But loves you just the same.
You need not always seek him
For he’s often seeking you.
He has a welcome for the stranger
But a warmer heart for you.
For he’s often seeking you.
He has a welcome for the stranger
But a warmer heart for you.
He is rather scarce on talking
But at listening he is good.
You love to be around him
But respect his solicitude.
But at listening he is good.
You love to be around him
But respect his solicitude.
Draw Closer to the Fire
THE summer sweets have faded,
The hedge, the vine, and briar,
Come, put your hand in mine, my friend,
Draw closer to the fire.
The hedge, the vine, and briar,
Come, put your hand in mine, my friend,
Draw closer to the fire.
From footstools let us view the heights
To which great minds aspire;
Here’s Riley, Keats and Emerson,
Draw closer to the fire.
To which great minds aspire;
Here’s Riley, Keats and Emerson,
Draw closer to the fire.
A brave refrain from unknown bards
And Byron’s brave satire,
Frank Stanton’s tears and tenderness,
Draw closer to the fire.
And Byron’s brave satire,
Frank Stanton’s tears and tenderness,
Draw closer to the fire.
Tho’ cold the winds and fierce the blast,
And thwarted our heart’s desire,
We’ve Robert Frost to cheer the hearth,
Draw closer to the fire.
And thwarted our heart’s desire,
We’ve Robert Frost to cheer the hearth,
Draw closer to the fire.
What Love Is
LOVE is a magnetism
That enables two people
To see one another as
No one else can see them,
A compelling unresisting element
Drawing them into each other’s arms.
Love is an unselfish devotion,
Giving service without reward,
Sacrifice without compensation,
Suffering without alleviation.
It is a power, a force,
The fundamental principle of life,
Without which, the mere act of living
Becomes a farce and a mockery.
Love is the foundation of every
Unselfish act, in this grey old world.
It is the rosy amber hearthstone
Of earth’s flaming paradise, and
A stepping stone to a better world called heaven.
That enables two people
To see one another as
No one else can see them,
A compelling unresisting element
Drawing them into each other’s arms.
Love is an unselfish devotion,
Giving service without reward,
Sacrifice without compensation,
Suffering without alleviation.
It is a power, a force,
The fundamental principle of life,
Without which, the mere act of living
Becomes a farce and a mockery.
Love is the foundation of every
Unselfish act, in this grey old world.
It is the rosy amber hearthstone
Of earth’s flaming paradise, and
A stepping stone to a better world called heaven.