Page:Poems Piatt.djvu/123

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A LESSON IN A PICTURE.
109
Suppose this lonesome night could be
Some night a thousand springs ago,
Dim round that tower; and you were she,
And your shy friend her lover (Oh!),
And I—her mother! And suppose
I knew just why she wore that rose.

Do you think I'd kiss my girl, and say:
"Make haste to bid the wedding guest,
And make the wedding garment gay,—
You could not find in East or West
So brave a bridegroom; I rejoice
That you have made so sweet a choice"?

Or say, "To look for ever fair,
Just keep this turret moonlight wound
About your face; stay in mid-air;—
Rope-ladders lead one to the ground,
Where all things take the touch of tears,
And nothing lasts a thousand years"?