The world has many things, 'tis true,
To fill its time,
Far more important things to do
Than making love and rhyme;
Yet, if it asked me to advise,
I'd say—buy up Dulcinea's eyes!
TO A SIMPLE HOUSEWIFE
Who dough shall knead as for God's sake
Shall fill it with celestial leaven,
And every loaf that she shall bake
Be eaten of the Blest in heaven.
LOVE'S WISDOM
Sometimes my idle heart would roam
Far from its quiet happy nest,
To seek some other newer home,
Some unaccustomed Best:
But ere it spreads its foolish wings,
'Heart, stay at home, be wise!' Love's wisdom sings.
Sometimes my idle heart would sail
From out its quiet sheltered bay,
To tempt a less pacific gale,
And oceans far away:
But ere it shakes its foolish wings,
'Heart, stay at home, be wise!' Love's wisdom sings.
Sometimes my idle heart would fly,
Mothlike, to reach some shining sin,
It seems so sweet to burn and die
That wondrous light within:
But ere it burns its foolish wings,
'Heart, stay at home, be wise!' Love's wisdom sings.
HOME …
'We're going home!' I heard two lovers say,
They kissed their friends and bade them bright good-byes;
I hid the deadly hunger in my eyes,
And, lest I might have killed them, turned away.
Ah, love! we too once gambolled home as they,
Home from the town with such fair merchandise,—
Wine and great grapes—the happy lover buys:
A little cosy feast to crown the day.
Yes! we had once a heaven we called a home
Its empty rooms still haunt me like thine eyes,
When the last sunset softly faded there;
Each day I tread each empty haunted room,
And now and then a little baby cries,
Or laughs a lovely laughter worse to bear.