The lichen of affection takes as long,Or longer,ere it lovingly enfolds A place which since without it were bereft,All stript and bare,shorn of its chiefest grace.
For what to us were halls and corridors However large and fitting,if we part With this which is our birthright;if we lose A sentiment profound,unsoundable,Which Time's slow ripening alone can make,And man's blind foolishness so quickly mar.
Verses for Children Sea Shell Sea Shell,Sea Shell,Sing me a song,O Please!
A song of ships,and sailor men,And parrots,and tropical trees,Of islands lost in the Spanish Main Which no man ever may find again,Of fishes and corals under the waves,And seahorses stabled in great green caves.
Sea Shell,Sea Shell,Sing of the things you know so well.
Fringed Gentians Near where I live there is a lake As blue as blue can be,winds make It dance as they go blowing by.
I think it curtseys to the sky.
It's just a lake of lovely flowers And my Mamma says they are ours;But they are not like those we grow To be our very own,you know.
We have a splendid garden,there Are lots of flowers everywhere;Roses,and pinks,and four o'clocks And hollyhocks,and evening stocks.
Mamma lets us pick them,but never Must we pick any gentians --ever!
For if we carried them away They'd die of homesickness that day.
The Painted Ceiling My Grandpapa lives in a wonderful house With a great many windows and doors,There are stairs that go up,and stairs that go down,And such beautiful,slippery floors.
But of all of the rooms,even mother's and mine,And the bookroom,and parlour and all,I like the green dining-room so much the best Because of its ceiling and wall.
Right over your head is a funny round hole With apples and pears falling through;There's a big bunch of grapes all purply and sweet,And melons and pineapples too.
They tumble and tumble,but never come down Though I've stood underneath a long while With my mouth open wide,for I always have hoped Just a cherry would drop from the pile.
No matter how early I run there to look It has always begun to fall through;And one night when at bedtime I crept in to see,It was falling by candle-light too.