The Project Gutenberg eBook of Poems of Life, by Katharine Forrest Hamill.

PHILADELPHIA
PETER REILLY, PUBLISHER
133 N. THIRTEENTH STREET
1915

Copyright 1915, by Peter Reilly
Published July, 1915

FIRST IMPRESSION

Dedication	IX
Author’s Note	XI
POEMS OF LIFE.
	Page
Today	5
Jewels	6
Something Gone	7
A-Maying	8
Tribute	9
Good-Bye	10
The Wondrous Song	14
Miladi	17
The Something-my-life-has-missed	18
Contentment	20
Gone	21
To My Muse	22
Conception	24
Awakening	25
The House Built on Sands	26
To a Butterfly	28
A Fragment	29
Query	30
I Close Mine Eyes	32
Understanding	33
We Met in May	34
I Turn Me Down a Lighted Way	36
Counsel	37
Decision	39
You Never Guessed the Secret	40
The Light	42
Education	43
Re-Adjustment	44
FROM “RHYMES FOR WEE SWEETHEARTS”
When Grandmama Was Little	53
Harolds Lament	55
Mrs Spider	57
The Naughty Little Girl	58
On the Stair	60
The Land O’Dreams	61
The Middle of the Night	63
When Our Fathers Were Little Boys	65
Slumber Land	67
The New Brother	68

POEMS OF LIFE

TO-DAY

JEWELS

SOMETHING GONE

A-MAYING

TRIBUTE

GOOD-BYE

She

THE WONDROUS SONG

I LONGED to sing a wondrous song,
So wondrous, ’twould compel
The admiration unreserved
Of one and all as well.

My pen I took in hand and strove
The magic words to write,
Alas! I could not of my Muse
Inspiration invite.

She would not humor, tho’ I begged
Persistently and long
For the right metre—the right thought,
To best set down my song.

’Twas stately phrase I coveted,
The Laurel I would court—
That of the world’s acknowledgment
Of unsurpass´ed thought.

At length disheartened, my appeal
Knew, but to be denied,
I rose and to the window moved,
And marked the scene outside.

All quiet stretched the land before,
Enwrapt in the soft haze
Which with such rare enchantment clothes
Autumn’s initial days.

Idly my glance the expanse swept
Till it came to where lay
Outside the gate, the winding road
Leading to far-away.

Then with the moment light was mine—
Yet not complex its thought,
The inspiration which appealed
Was diff’rent, from that sought.

The winding road—the simple theme—
They who followed after—
The toll it wrested of sad tears,
For short dole of laughter.

The tranquil ways bidden farewell,
To seek of its unrest,
The truth alas! too oft brought home,
The paths forsook, were best.

Could I but so compose a lay,
That one who heard might pause,
Nor continue to sacrifice
In an unrighteous cause.

And keep his soul tho’ it should be
By cruelest conflict wrung,
I need not further supplicate—
My wondrous song were sung.

MILADI

THE SOMETHING MY LIFE HAS MISSED

CONTENTMENT

GONE

TO MY MUSE

LET others bow before Wealth’s shrine,
And tribute render up
For the pleasures manifold it brings
To overflow Life’s cup.
But at your altar, Muse, I kneel
And reverential pray,
When darkness would have claimed my soul—
You held its blight at bay.

My sky of Life was overcast—
Nor showed one patch of blue—
Love had betrayed, and deep,—ah, deep!
My heart drank of its rue.
Where lo! a hand my shoulder pressed,
E’en as I would give up;—
I turned,—your eyes looked into mine—
There passed the cup.

A music wonderful entranced
Which led to heights afar;
Ever it beckoned on, and on,
My guiding star.
The chains that hitherto had held,—
How worthless proved their pow’r!
Instead of wishing Life to pass
I thanked God for each hour.

Let others bow before Wealth’s shrine,
And tribute render up
For the pleasures manifold it brings
To overflow Life’s cup.
But at your altar, Muse, I kneel
And reverential pray,
When darkness would have claimed my soul,—
You held its blight at bay.

CONCEPTION

AWAKENING

THE HOUSE BUILT ON SANDS

WE will go, he said, far, far away,
And a world make of our own.
A kingdom, such as never before
On land or sea, has been known.

She smiled into his eyes,—and oh! the look
Of perfect trust she gave
As he gathered her close, vowing the while
Allegiance unto the grave.

Well, they went away and made their world
As others had done before,
For the time being love blinding them
To the confine of its shore.

They were all-in-all to each other, alone,
And it mattered not a whit,
That, in the scheme of things outside the pale,
They were not permitted to fit.

Defiance they flung in the face of dissent!
Life,—was it not their right
To live it as they wanted to?
And they would, all warning despite.

Why burden the pages by writing down
Their history in detail?
Was ever yet such a compact made
That was known not to fail.

’Twas a question of time,—“The house built on sands”
From its moorings slipped away;
They who court Fate’s disfavor—or soon—or late,
“Pass under the rod” of her sway.

TO A BUTTERFLY

A FRAGMENT

QUERY

YOU love me, you say, and want me
To become your own.
I believe you are in earnest now,
But,—as the years go on—

What do you think will happen!
Shall we travel side by side,
Lovers, and faithful companions,
Whatever may betide?

So many have taken the venture,
But to find it turn out for the bad,
Who, at the beginning, just as much faith
In a different outcome had.

That I’m fearful our fate might be like theirs,—
Have we proof, think you, it will not?
A guarantee,—we shall never grow tired
And want to unfasten the knot?

Tho’ my love is yours, ’twere far better,
Our paths separately should trend;
Than start together, and then diverge,
Nor accomplish the journey’s end.

I CLOSE MINE EYES

UNDERSTANDING

WE MET IN MAY

I TURN ME DOWN A LIGHTED WAY

COUNSEL

HAVE you balked at the test you’ve been put to,
Are you weary of straining a point?
Is the fight too hard, the way too long?
Is there too much of sighing, too little of song?
Does ev’ry thing seem to be going wrong?
The scheme entire, as it were, out of joint?

Then lend me an ear whilst I counsel awhile,
You must take a fresh grip, my friend,
The game is yours if you’ll make it your own,
Defeat is a word that need never be known.
He who sticks in his mount, cannot be thrown,
Let his steed strive its best to that end.

The sun goes down with the gloom of each night,
But it rises again with each morn,
And there’s so much of brightness to be gathered in,
Such wonderful happiness ours to win,
Throw despair to the winds, and anew begin,
Standing forth—the Mortal re-born!

DECISION

YOU NEVER GUESSED THE SECRET

YOU never guessed the secret,
Nor have unto to-day.
The truth of it never reached you,
I hid it so well away.
The truth of how I loved you,
Yet spake not, for your sake;
Nor is it easy to put aside
What One so longs to take.

The voice of you, in my musings,
The glance of you, in my dreams;
The feeling, you ever were near me,
Even now, how compelling it seems!
As if but to turn—were to see you;
To know the clasp of your hand;
Yet, I guarded the knowledge carefully,
And you did not understand.

Still the thought of you hurt, and I hungered—
Hungered, day and night,
It will count when the story is ended,
I was able to see aright.
You never guessed the secret,
Nor have unto to-day.
The truth of it never reached you,
I hid it so well away.

THE LIGHT

EDUCATION

RE-ADJUSTMENT

YOU beg of me to forgive you
The Other in your life.
She, who has for some time, I’ve discovered,
Been defrauding the wife.

You avow you never loved her
That ’twas she led you along—
And why hold one responsible
Who’s not guilty of a wrong?

Won’t I forgive, as you urge me,
Forgive and try to forget?
Let the rest of your life be a token,
Of how sincere your regret.

I must have time for my answer,
Some things take the breath—
It seems to die, we need not
Always wait for death.

I loved you so absolutely,
Thought you so completely my own;
I never questioned but that we meant
All in all to each other—alone.

And you the while were betraying
The faith I held so dear,
Selling the same to another—
No, do not come near.

When its foundation becomes weakened,
A structure is undermined,
Nor can it at all times, be strengthened anew,
They who venture the effort, find.

I will do my best to replace it—
The foundation my trust hath known;
Should I fail—tho’ sincere my intention—tion—
You must go on your way—alone.

FROM “RHYMES FOR WEE SWEETHEARTS”

Acknowledgment is made to Messrs. George W. Jacobs & Company for their courtesy in granting permission to reprint in this volume verses from “Rhymes for Wee Sweethearts.”

WHEN GRANDMAMA WAS LITTLE

WHEN grandmama was little—
It was years and years ago,
In what folks call, at this time,
The old-fashioned days, you know—
Why, she had such a perfect time,
The best you ever saw:
We wish that we’d been little
Same time as grandmama.

She tells us all about it,
And then, if we are good,
And just sit still and listen,
The way all children should,
And never interrupt a bit,
Or question ’bout the rest
Till she’s all through, she shows us
The things up in her chest.

I can’t begin to tell you
The half of what is there:
The rag-dolls soiled and faded
That haven’t any hair,
And toys, and—oh, yes!—lady-dolls,
And, folded with the rest,
A little rose-bud muslin frock,
Her one-time very best.

And there’s her picture taken
In this self-same gown,
With ruffles reaching to the waist
And panties showing down;
Hair parted in the middle;
Over each ear a curl:
Oh! but our grandmama was pretty!
When a little girl!

HAROLD’S LAMENT

BLAMED if I see any fun
In being a boy,
With ev’rybody trying
Their hardest to annoy!
It’s “Harold” here, and “Harold” there
Until they have me sick
Of “Run along!”—“Don’t be slow!”—
Or “Hurry up; be quick!”

First some one sends me down-stairs,
I run with might and main;
Before I’m half-way there it’s turn
And run right up again!
And sure as I go out to play,
Or have a little fun,
I’m called straight in: there’s something else
A-waiting to be done!

I just believe I’ll run away;
Pack all my things and go!
Can’t see the use of staying ’round
And being treated so!
For I just bet when they were small,
Not one of them would do
Half of the errands and the things
That I’m expected to!

MRS. SPIDER

THE NAUGHTY LITTLE GIRL

ON THE STAIR

THE LAND O’ DREAMS

THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

SOMETIMES at night I get awake
And all’s so dark and still—
Why I’m ’bout scared even to take
A deep-down breath, until
I peer ’round first and try to see
If ev’rything’s all right!
For the terriblest things can be,—
The Middle of the Night.

I want so much to cry right out—
But I am awful ’fraid!
’Cause, if those black things were about,
They’d hear the noise I made.
And mother sleeps so very sound,
She mightn’t hear, you see,
And then they’d make a great big bound
And run away with me.

So I lie just still as I can—
My heart a-thumping so!
Wishing I were a great big man,
So I’d not scare, you know.
When oh!—the covers pull away
And just as I begin
To scream—why, I hear mother say
It’s her tucking them in!

WHEN OUR FATHERS WERE LITTLE BOYS

WHEN our fathers were little boys,
Before they grew to men,
I wonder did they make a noise
Or have a good time then?
I wonder did they ever fight
And punch each other’s nose?
Or if they always did just right
And never spoiled their clothes.

I wonder did their mothers scold
Sometimes and make them cry?
I wonder if they ever told
A teeny-weeny lie?
I wonder if they ever had
Such dirty hands and face?
I wonder were they ever mad
And banged things ’round the place?

I wonder did they ever run
To fires hard as they could?
Or if they called it better fun
To sit still and be good?
I wonder were they ever small
And kept back in the shade?
Or didn’t they have to grow at all,
But just come ready made?

SLUMBER LAND

THE NEW BROTHER

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