Poems (Brown)/To Mattie

by Carrie L. Brown

TO MATTIE. 

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Dear Friend:—
You ask a tribute from my pen—
 A gift which God alone imparts—
To improve the mind, and also gain
 The secret treasures of our hearts.

I write these lines at thy request;
 Free may they be from every stain:
If God, our Maker, think it best,
 May you and I soon meet again.

I've watched the sun at evening
 Fade in the glowing west,
Painting with rainbow hues the clouds,
 Then, gently sinking, like a babe to rest.

I've watched the stars, as, one by one,
 They take the place of that bright orb
And think, although so wondrous they,
 That we God's highest thoughts absorb.

Mattie! to these I liken you,—
 A sun! a star! in heaven;
Take thou of life a lofty view,
 And ne'er from Virtue's path be driven.

May thy tasks be light and easy,
 May thy path be bright and free;
May thy spirit ne'er grow weary,
 Ne'er provoke inconstancy.

Mattie, these lines which now I write,
 Are meant as wishes unto thee;
And when, perchance, they meet your eye,
 Do thou, dear friend, remember me.