THE CRADLE.
The barn was low and dim and old,
Broad on the floor the sunshine slept,
And through the windows and the doors
Swift in and out the swallows swept.
Broad on the floor the sunshine slept,
And through the windows and the doors
Swift in and out the swallows swept.
And breezes from the summer sea
Drew through, and stirred the fragrant hay
Down-dropping from the loft, wherein
A gray old idle fish-net lay
Drew through, and stirred the fragrant hay
Down-dropping from the loft, wherein
A gray old idle fish-net lay
Heaped in a corner, and one loop
Hung loose the dry, sweet grass among,
And hammock-wise to all the winds
It floated to and fro, and swung.
Hung loose the dry, sweet grass among,
And hammock-wise to all the winds
It floated to and fro, and swung.
And there one day the children brought
The pet of all the house to play;
A baby boy of three years old,
And sweeter than the dawn of day.
The pet of all the house to play;
A baby boy of three years old,
And sweeter than the dawn of day.
