Poems (E. L. F.)/To minnie

TO MINNIE.
1855.Minnie, darling of my heart,Is there no song for thee?Thou art the sunshine of a lifeThat lives in loving thee.
And fair art thou as a summer's dream,With thy bright and golden hair;And the merry tone of thy infant laughRings on the silent air.
But who shall tell of thy beaming glance,That speaking, soul-lit eye,With its sweet bright gaze of dewy love,Calm as an evening sky?
Thou art a child of promise fair—What shall thy future be? O God in heaven! grant the prayerOf a mother's love for thee.
I do not wish unmingled peace,Nor sunshine without shade—Not for such unmeted happinessWere we poor creatures made;
But I would have endurance mild,And hope, and faith, and love,For ever to be near my child,Guiding to realms above.