POETIC PROVERBS.
I.
"If thou be surety for thy friend, thou art snared with the words of
thy mouth,"—PROVERBS vi. v. 1, 2.
Think well, my son, before you lend
Your name as bond for any friend;
Or, when the day of reckoning comes,
Come broken hearts and blighted homes.
Think well, my son, before you give
Your trusty word, that knaves may live:
Be not for such the stepping-stone,
But strive to earn and keep thine own.
II.
"A wise son maketh a glad father; but a foolish son is the heaviness
of his mother."—PROVERBS x, v. 1.
Be wise, my son, as o'er the earth
Thou walk'st in search of wealth or fame;
Return her love who gave thee birth—
His, who thy youthful guide became.
That mother's heart must cease to beat;
That father's voice must cease to guide;
Oh! then what recollections sweet
Will cheer thy life's dark eventide.
III.
"Hope deferred maketh the heart sick; The desire accomplished is
sweet to the soul.—PROVERBS xiii, v. 12, 19.
I am watching—I am waiting;
And my heart droops sad and low.
No glad message brings me comfort
As the moments come and go.
While the flowers bask in sunshine;
While birds sing on every tree;
I am weary—weary, waiting—
For a message, love, from thee.
IV.
"A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband."—PROVERBS xii, v. 4.
As is the lustre to the lily;
As is the fragrance to the rose;
As is the perfume to the violet
In sweet humility that grows.
As is the glad warmth of the sunshine
Whene'er the earth is dark and cold;
So, to the loving heart that wears it,
Is Virtue's purest crown of gold.
V.
"Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful, and the end of that mirth
is heaviness."—PROVERBS xiv, v. 13.
What though kind friends that gather round me
Seek to make my heart rejoice?
I miss the face I love so dearly—
Miss the music of thy voice;
And though I smile, as if in gladness,
Tis but the phantom of a smile;
My heart, in sorrowing and sadness,
Mourns thy absence all the while.