Will Carleton Great Poems
- 1. Apples Growing
Underneath an apple-tree
Sat a dame of comely seeming,
With her work upon her knee,
And her great eyes idly dreaming.
... - 2. Death-doomed
They're taking me to the gallows, mother--they mean to hang me high;
They're going to gather round me there, and watch me till I die;
All earthly joy has vanished now, and gone each mortal hope,--
They'll draw a cap across my eyes, and round my neck a rope;
... - 3. The Fading Flower
There is a chillness in the air--
A coldness in the smile of day;
And e'en the sunbeam's crimson glare
Seems shaded with a tinge of gray.
... - 4. The Editor's Guests
The Editor sat in his sanctum, his countenance furrowed with care,
His mind at the bottom of business, his feet at the top of a chair,
His chair-arm an elbow supporting, his right hand upholding his head,
His eyes on his dusty old table, with different documents spread:
... - 5. Over The Hill From The Poor-house
I, who was always counted, they say,
Rather a bad stick any way,
Splintered all over with dodges and tricks,
Known as "the worst of the Deacon's six;"
... - 6. Uncle Sammy.
Some men were born for great things,
Some were born for small;
Some--it is not recorded
Why they were born at all;
... - 7. How We Kept The Day.
I.
The great procession came up the street,
With clatter of hoofs and tramp of feet;
There was General Jones to guide the van,
... - 8. Out O' The Fire.
[As Told in 1880.]
Year of '71, children, middle of the fall,
On one fearful night, children, we well-nigh lost our all.
...
