LITTLE SONGS 
 
 "By 
 M. R. L. C. 
 
 1917 
 

 LITTLE SONGS 
 
 f^ 
 
 •By 
 M. R. L. C. 
 
 /, J 
 
 19 17 
 

 To My Children 
 
 Marcia and Fred 
 
 Mary R, L. Chapin 
 
 Copyright 1917 
 By Mary R. L. Chapin 
 
 
TO MARCIA. 
 
 A Hower bloomed in August time 
 
 So precious and so rare, 
 I gazed with awe, to think it mine, 
 
 So sweet, it was, and fair. 
 
 Fresh from the hand of God it came, 
 
 And lay upon my breast. 
 My heart sang like a happy bird, 
 
 A secret in its nest. 
 
 Sleep, baby, sleep, my precious Hower, 
 The world seems far from me, 
 
 I only know this one sweet hour 
 That holds but m^ and thee. 
 
 ->^ 
 
A MISTY DAY, 
 
 I thank Thee for this day, 
 A day of mist and dreams, 
 
 Wherein to rest awhile; 
 Away from noise and strife — 
 
 A day to know myself and Thee. 
 The sun has been too bright, 
 I could not see. 
 
 My blinded eyes, 
 
 With too much light, 
 J Hove missed and lost 
 
 The purest rays 
 That shine in quiet 
 And on shadowy days. 
 
 I wait, and all enfolded 
 Round with Love, — 
 All roughened edges 
 Smoothed away, — 
 Within the harbour of my soul, 
 I find myself, and Thee, 
 O lovely, misty day. 
 
HEIGHO! BUT LOVE WAS SIVEET! 
 
 I know we are apart, 
 
 But oh, you were so sweet, so fair, 
 
 Your fragrance, like a lily rare. 
 Still lingers 'round my heart, 
 
 I knozv that love has gone, 
 
 Heigho! — hut love was sweet, so siveet, 
 With kisses Heet, and Hying feet 
 
 She left me here to mourn. 
 
 The lily's fair, I know; 
 
 But I will smile, and zvait awhile 
 
 And sing my sorrow to beguile ; 
 For still, the roses hloiv! 
 
 THE SUN HAS GONE. 
 
 The sun has gone, and all is still. 
 But hush! — across the waiting hill 
 I hear a bird so softly trill, 
 And then 'tis night. 
 
 The day has gone, a brooding peace 
 Enfolds me now, my sorrows cease. 
 My soul awaits the glad release, 
 And then the dawn. 
 
 Beyond the hills a shimmering glow. 
 Awakes the zmnd to softly blozv; 
 The stars are fading now — and lo! 
 The day has come! 
 
'^^- 
 
 THE HILLS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. 
 
 I long to go hack 
 
 To the dear old hills, 
 Where the fir trees stand. 
 
 And the wood thrush trills. 
 I know that the joy 
 
 Has gone long ago, 
 But I live once more 
 
 In the afterglow. 
 
 In dreams I am there 
 
 On the hills I know. 
 The lake is agleam 
 
 The stars all aglow. 
 I hear the soft lap 
 
 Of zmives on the shore. 
 The woods whisper low 
 
 And call evermore. 
 
 Oh! I zvant to go hack 
 
 To the peace that zvais there, 
 .J,:. To the path in the woods 
 
 With the ferns everywhere — 
 The voices of summer 
 
 Now are calling to me. 
 Oh! I want to go hack 
 
 Where the joy used to he. 
 
INDIAN PIPES. 
 
 Are you a Hoiver or just a dream? 
 You stand so zvan and pate, 
 
 And bloom unseen, 
 Like some sweet nun, 
 Within the cloistered wood. 
 
 So still, so quiet and serene. 
 
 Or, perhaps a ray of moonlight 
 One cool, sweet morn 
 
 Forgot to slip away, 
 And lingered there. 
 To bloom in silver HowWs, 
 
 To greet the coming of the day. 
 
FALLING GREEN. 
 
 The bluebird calls, at Falling Green, 
 Where peace and beauty dwell. 
 
 The flowers bloom their sweetest there, 
 The birds their best songs tell. 
 
 How sweet it is when spring has come. 
 
 Ah, but the world is fair! 
 I only know the sky is blue, 
 
 And perfume fills the air. 
 
 My heart goes back to happy hours, 
 
 Within the tangled lane. 
 The hours spent with loved ones, gone, 
 
 That will not come again. 
 
 I know a path beside the spring. 
 
 An orchard on the way. 
 Oh, I long to be again 
 
 At Falling Green today. 
 
FATE. 
 
 From out the shadoiv-land of dreams I came, 
 
 And found you zvaiting there, 
 And when I looked into your eyes, I knew, 
 
 I knew that always it was meant. 
 That you and I should meet and part. 
 
 With just one lingering touch of hands. 
 But O, when music opefis wide 
 
 Th£ closed gate that leads to you; 
 I Hnd once more the hidden path; 
 
 With you there, waiting at the end. 
 Perhaps you know, and pause across the void, 
 
 To touch again my hand outreaching for your own. 
 
MY CLOUD. 
 
 Just to be a little cloudy 
 
 So fleecy and so white, 
 All the day long to float and sail. 
 
 And then when comes the night, 
 To hide behind the silver moon, 
 
 Until the morning light. 
 
 Nothing to do but drift and dream, 
 
 High up in the beautiful sky; 
 To watch the earth go rolling on. 
 
 And wonder — wonder why. 
 
 AH, FOOLISH LITTLE PLUM TREE. 
 
 Ah, foolish little plum tree, 
 To think that it was spring. 
 
 Just because the sky was blue. 
 And birds began to sing. 
 
 Ah, foolish little plum tree fair. 
 To fling your szveetness to the air! 
 
 Poor, foolish little plum tree. 
 With snowy arms upspread; 
 
 The north ivind came and kissed you. 
 And left your blossoms dead. 
 
 Ah, foolish little plum tree, sweet. 
 
 All dressed in white the spring to greet. 
 
LIFE. 
 
 Life is a sea, 
 An endless sea, 
 
 That ebbs and Hows; 
 In ceaseless quest, 
 Still seeking rest, 
 
 It conies and goes. 
 
 PEACE. 
 
 God's zvoods are still, so still, 
 
 I zvait to hear the voice 
 That speaks in silences, 
 
 And bids my soul rejoice. 
 The Hr trees listen, too. 
 
 Where silver birches gleam, 
 And peace comes back to me 
 
 Beside the forest stream. 
 
THE LOST PATH. 
 
 The path between your heart and mine, 
 
 Once sweet with Hozvers, 
 Is hitshed and dim and grown zvith weeds, 
 
 And darkness lozvers. 
 
 The sun may shine on other paths, 
 
 And Uowers bloom; 
 I stumble back to seek thy heart. 
 
 Through dusk and gloom. 
 
 The way is lonely now and long, 
 
 And tears fall fast, 
 Fm seeking still to find the way. 
 
 To thee at last. 
 
 c" 
 
OH! ROBIN, ROBIN, SINGING! 
 
 Oh! Robin, Robin, singing. 
 High in the cherry tree; 
 
 In the early morning clear, 
 You re calling now to me. 
 
 I listen then with rapture. 
 To hear your message gay. 
 
 You are more than bird or song, 
 Szveet herald of the day. 
 
 Tell me more of love and joy 
 Blithe spirit of the air. 
 
 You sing, 'tis May and springtime, 
 And love is ez/erywhere. 
 
 Winter's gone, and sorrow, too; 
 
 The world is filled zvith song. 
 You bid me rise with gladness. 
 
 And love, the whole day long. 
 
JUST FOR A DAY, 
 
 Ah! could J he a little bird 
 
 Just for a single day. 
 I'd ope my eyes to greet the sun, 
 
 And sing my joyous lay. 
 
 Then Uy into the whispering woods, 
 To sing my song of love, 
 
 Or cleave the air on freedom's wing. 
 And Uy to joys above. 
 
 I'd woo the sunshine all the day, 
 And then, when brooding night 
 
 Comes back again to win me home, 
 I'd wing my downward flight. 
 
KOLELEMOOK LAKE, NEW HAMPSHIRE, 
 
 K oleic mo ok! Thy jewels rare, 
 The mountains guard zvith jealous care, 
 The shores stoop dozvn with kisses sweet, 
 And fling their blossoms at thy feet. 
 
 Thy days are full of pure delights, 
 With golden morns and silver nights; 
 The hours drift by, and, one by one, 
 Sink down to rest ztnth setting sun. 
 
 Kolelemook; thy peaceful shore 
 Will call me back for evermore. 
 
 i 
 
LAST NIGHT I DREAMED. 
 
 Last night I dreamed you kissed me, dear, 
 It thrilled me through to feel. 
 
 Those precious kisses on my lips, 
 Your arms around me steal. 
 
 I felt your heart beat fast on nnne, 
 You held me close. It seemed 
 
 I answered hack each soulful kiss; 
 Alas! I only dreamed. 
 
 Then welcome back once dreaded night. 
 
 And bring my love to me. 
 Oh, speed the day and hasten light — 
 
 ril Uy to dreams and thee. 
 
A LITTLE HILL. 
 
 I always love a little hill. 
 
 Although I dont know why. 
 It seems so human and content 
 
 And laughs %ip to the sky; 
 It is so full of lovely things, 
 
 Of Uozvers, white and blue, 
 Of grass, that whispers to the wind, 
 
 And birds that sing of you. 
 
 It holds its head above the plain, 
 
 Where it can look and see 
 The distant mountains, cold and gray. 
 
 And is content to be 
 lust what it is — a little hill, 
 
 Where you and I may rest. 
 And listen to the secrets sweet 
 
 Deep hidden in its breast. 
 
 I ahvays love a little hill, 
 Although I don't know why. 
 
 But this I know, when life is o'er 
 That I should love to lie 
 
 Within the grass, and hear the birds, 
 And wind go whispering by. 
 
EYES OF A CHILD. 
 
 I looked in the eyes of a child today, 
 
 And there in those depths like a limpid pool 
 I saw reflected the dreams that I lost; 
 
 Those radiant dreams I had long ago. 
 Ah, now do I know where the dawn has fled. 
 
 Where the stars all dwell when the night has gone, 
 And the reason alas! — for mothers' tears. 
 
 Then all the wonderful, beautiful songs 
 That once my heart sang, I heard again. 
 
 When I looked in the eyes of a child today. 
 
A PRAYER. 
 
 Lord, I am bewildered, lost, 
 
 I am so far from home and Thee; 
 Show me the way. 
 The road is long; the path is dark; 
 I am afraid; send out Thy light, 
 Lest I should stray. 
 
 Lord, like a tired little child 
 I cry out, in the dark to Thee; 
 Give me Thy hand. 
 Show me the way to peace and light; 
 Fve zvandered far, Lord; lead me hack 
 To where you stand. 
 
 Lord, Thou zvert unth me all the way, 
 I did not know, so lost the path; 
 I raise my eyes. 
 The radiant light still leads me on. 
 I know the way. Lord. It is Thee; 
 Straight on it lies! 
 
LOVE'S SEASONS, 
 
 Beloved, when you frozvn on me 
 
 'Tis Autumn then. 
 No stars, no moon to light the gloom 
 And falling leafues where flowers should bloom, 
 
 'Tis Autumn then. 
 
 Oh, when you turn your face away, 
 
 'Tis Winter then. 
 So very cold the wind blows chill, 
 The sun has gone behind the hill, 
 
 'Tis Winter then. 
 
 But when I look into your eyes^ 
 
 Springtime is here! 
 The birds all sing and floivcrs bloom. 
 The air is -filled with sweet perfume. 
 
 The Spring is here! 
 
 Sweetheart, I kiss your lips so rare, 
 
 'Tis Summer now! 
 At every kiss red roses blow. 
 Within your arms — Ah, then I know 
 
 'Tis Summer now! 
 
PERHAPS. 
 
 I fear the cruel winter lingers still, 
 For, as I look beyond the zvaiting hill, 
 I seem to see the cold and glistening snow; 
 Or is it only n'here the daisies blow? 
 
 I fear the chill of winter in your eyes, 
 Though on your lips the rose of summer lies; 
 So chill, so cold the cruel north wind blows — 
 / dare not stoop to pluck a single rose. 
 
 So sweet, so zvarm, my love for you doth glow, 
 ril hold you close and melt the cruel snow; 
 And, in your eyes zvill come the springtime showers. 
 Ah, then, perhaps Fll dare to pluck the flowers! 
 
OH, MY FALSE LOVE SO FAIR. 
 
 Dearest, could I forget that lambent fire. 
 The love you gave to me, and did forget? 
 I hug the Uame so close it burns there yet, 
 
 And fills my waiting heart with sweet desire. 
 
 Dear one, you lost the way, and left me here. 
 You love me not; but oh, you left the key 
 That opens heaven here on earth to me — 
 
 'Tis love for you — oh, my false love so dear. 
 
 The happy birds are singing all day long, 
 Their lilting song is love, 'tis everyzvhere. 
 In brooks, in trees, and flowers blooming fair. 
 
 My heart is now attuned to catch the song. 
 
 Oh, my false love so fair — who could forget! 
 I guard the sacred Uame, it burns there yet. 
 
IVHO KNOWS? 
 
 When I am gone beyond your sight 
 
 And though the day has come 
 Within your soul descends the night; 
 Beloved, I will come again, 
 I love you so. 
 You may not see my face, 
 
 But you will know. 
 From out the depths of some szi'eet song 
 
 ril call to you, 
 Or in the p erf time of a rose 
 Will kiss your lips; 
 Who knows — who knows? 
 
 A LOVE SONG. 
 
 My heart was like 
 
 An empty cup. 
 So hare it zvas, and cold; 
 
 But nozv 'tis filled 
 
 From brim to brim, 
 With joy and peace untold. 
 
 So full it is, 
 
 And brimming o'er 
 With love and peace divine. 
 
 Lift up the cup 
 
 And drink it deep — 
 
 'Tis thine, szi'cef heart, 'tis thine! 
 
BABY FEET. 
 
 Two little pink feet, soft and warm, 
 So rosy and dimpled and sweet — 
 Baby feet! 
 Ah, could I keep you safe from harm, 
 
 From the stones that bruise, on paths so steep, 
 Precious feet! 
 
 I can not always hold you near, 
 
 So sheltered and close by my side — 
 Little feet! 
 You will wander soon through the world so wide, 
 Whither and where, God knows and will guide. 
 Baby feet! 
 
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