Page:All quiet along the Potomac and other poems.djvu/353
CRADLE AND GRAVE. 347
��CRADLE AND GRAVE.
MARCH 16, 1856.
A ROUND a cradle courtiers bent 1\ Wherein a babe slept royally Beneath the purple robe of state,
Gemmed thick with broidered golden bee.
That tiny rosy palm held fast
The slender link of empire s chain,
On which hung many a waiting hope Of dynasty enthroned again.
Kisses of welcome met its breath ,
A happy mother s blessing fell From pallid lips above the child,
Whose birth-cry stilled a fun ral knell,
Whilst cannon thundered out the news, Flags bloomed like flowers in the air,
And down the brilliant avenues Re-echoed vivas ev ry where.
JUNE i, 1879. Above poor Louis last low couch
Only the tangled grasses bent, As though in pity for the lad
So early from Life s battle sent.
No vivas woke that tropic air ; Only the mouths of wounds agape
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