Her locks are black as midnight,
Her brow like driven snaw;
And yet it was na’ these I vow
That stole my heart awa’.
Her smile is like the sunshine,
’Twad gar an iceberg thaw;
But ’twas na’ this by my guid-faith
That stole my heart awa’.
Ilk lad’s lass the fairest is,
For Beauty kens nae law;
(Though some folk maun be easy pleased
Wha’s hearts are stown awa’!)
Ah weel! maybe the pearl I’ve foun’
Is no wi’out a flaw!
But just because she’s her ain sel’
She stole my heart awa’.
DOWN BY THE SEA
O, mighty organ of a thousand keys,
O’er which the Master’s fingers ever stray!
I, listening, hear a myriad melodies
Played in the space of one short summer day.
The long, low plash of little languid waves,
The sweet, sad dirge of softly dying swell,
The deep, delicious gurglings in the caves,
Hold music that this soul of mine loves well.
Full as the human heart of mysteries,
Like it responsive to His touch alone,
For only He can wake the harmonies
Which sleep within thy bosom and mine own.
A VENTURE
Her mouth looks like a scarlet flower
And I feel like a hungry bee,
I long to dart straight to its heart,
But—what would be the fate of me?