Dis wood fiah is invitin' dho', Hit seems to wa'm de ve'y flo'-- An' nuffin' ain't a whit ez sweet, Ez settin' toastin' of yo' feet. Hit mek you drowsy, too, but La! Hyeah, 'Lias, don't you hyeah yo' ma? Ef I gits sta'ted f'om dis cheah I' lay, you scamp, I'll mek you heah! To-morrer mo'nin' I kin bawl Twell all de neighbohs hyeah me call; An' you'll be snoozin' des ez deep Ez if de day was made fu' sleep; Hit's funny when you got a cough Somehow yo' voice seems too fu' off-- Can't wake dat boy fu' all I say, I reckon he'll sleep daih twell day! KIDNAPED I held my heart so far from harm, I let it wander far and free In mead and mart, without alarm, Assured it must come back to me. And all went well till on a day, Learned Dr. Cupid wandered by A search along our sylvan way For some peculiar butterfly. A flash of wings, a hurried dive, A flutter and a short-lived flit; This Scientist, as I am alive Had seen my heart and captured it. Right tightly now 'tis held among The specimens that he has trapped, And sings (Oh, love is ever young), 'Tis passing sweet to be kidnaped. COMPENSATION Because I had loved so deeply, Because I had loved so long, God in His great compassion Gave me the gift of song. Because I have loved so vainly, And sung with such faltering breath, The Master in infinite mercy Offers the boon of Death. WINTER'S APPROACH De sun hit shine an' de win' hit blow, Ol' Brer Rabbit be a-layin' low, He know dat de wintah time a-comin', De huntah man he walk an' wait, He walk right by Brer Rabbit's gate-- He know-- De dog he lick his sliverin' chop, An' he tongue 'gin' his mouf go flop, flop-- He-- He rub his nose fu' to clah his scent So's to tell w'ich way dat cottontail went, He-- De huntah's wife she set an' spin A good wahm coat fu' to wrop him in She-- She look at de skillet an' she smile, oh my! An' ol' Brer Rabbit got to sholy fly. Dey know. ANCHORED If thro' the sea of night which here surrounds me, I could swim out beyond the farthest star, Break every barrier of circumstance that bounds me, And greet the Sun of sweeter life afar, Tho' near you there is passion, grief, and sorrow, And out there rest and joy and peace and all, I should renounce that beckoning for to-morrow, I could not choose to go beyond your call. THE VETERAN Underneath the autumn sky, Haltingly, the lines go by. Ah, would steps were blithe and gay, As when first they marched away, Smile on lip and curl on brow,-- Only white-faced gray-beards now, Standing on life's outer verge, E'en the marches sound a dirge.