The Sister's Appeal. A Fragment.

You remember--don't you, brother--
        In our early years,
The counsels of our poor, dear mother,
        And her hopes and fears?
She told us to love one another--
    Brother, dry your tears!

We are only two, dear brother,
        In his babel wide!
In the churchyard sleeps poor mother,
        By our father's side!--
Then let us cherish one another
        Till in death we bide.

George Pope Morris

George Pope Morris was an American editor, poet, and songwriter. Born on October 10, 1802, he made significant contributions to American literature and music. Morris co-founded and edited the New York Evening Mirror, where he published works by Edgar Allan Poe and others. He is perhaps best known for his song "Woodman, Spare That Tree!" and his role in the early 19th-century literary scene. Morris died on July 6, 1864, leaving behind a legacy of editorial and creative work that influenced many American writers and musicians.

George Pope Morris

Seventy-Six.

George Pope Morris, Simple Poetry

Land-Ho!

George Pope Morris, Simple Poetry

The Bacchanal

George Pope Morris, Simple Poetry

Bessy Bell.

George Pope Morris, Simple Poetry

English

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The Exile to his Sister.

As streams at morn, from seas that glide,
    Rejoicing on their sparkling way,
Will turn again at eventide,
    To mingle with their kindred spray--
Even so the currents of the soul,
    Dear sister, wheresoe'er we rove,
Will backward to our country roll,
    The boundless ocean of our love.

You northern star, now burning bright,
    The guide by which the wave-tossed steer,
Beams not with a more constant light
    Than does thy love, my sister dear.
From stars above the streams below
    Receive the glory they impart;
So, sister, do thy virtues glow
    Within the mirror of my heart.

George Pope Morris

My Mother's Bible.

This book is all that's left me now!--
    Tears will unbidden start--
With faltering lip and throbbing brow
    I press it to my heart.
For many generations past,
    Here is our family tree;
My mother's hands this Bible clasped,
    She, dying, gave it me.

Ah! well do I remember those
    Whose names these records bear;
Who round the hearth-stone used to close
    After the evening prayer,
And speak of what these pages said,
    In tones my heart would thrill!
Though they are with the silent dead,
    Here are they living still!

My father read this holy book
    To brothers, sisters dear;
How calm was my poor mother's look
    Who leaned God's word to hear!
Her angel face--I see it yet!
    What vivid memories come!--

George Pope Morris

A Faded Letter.

I.

O what memories sweet entwine
Around each word and faded line!
Yellow and dim with the touch of years,
And soiled with the marks of tears--
A sacred treasure of the heart
Which death alone can from him part--
A letter--cherished as no other--
And ending with the name of--Mother!


II.

Writ it was to a wayward boy,
When life to him seemed full of joy--
Pleading with him so to live
That he her heart no grief would give--
That after years might ne'er be fraught
With sorrow that himself had wrought:--
"May guardian angels 'round you hover,"
She wrote--and signed the name of--Mother!


III.

The paper has the taint of must--
The hand that traced the lines is dust,
And silvery hair is on the head
...

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My Brother James And I

WRITTEN AT THE REQUEST OF A BEREAVED BROTHER.


We were playmates long together,
    By the brook and on the hill,
In the golden, summer weather,
    When the days were long and still;
We were playmates in the firelight
    While the winter eyes went by,
And we shared one couch at midnight -
    My brother James and I!

We were schoolmates, too, together,
    In the after years that came,
And in toil, or task, or pleasure,
    Ours was still one heart, one aim;
Hand in hand we struggled sunward
    Toward fair Science' temple high
Aiding each the other onward -
    My brother James and I!

We were men at last together -
    Oh, the well remembered time,
When we left the dear, old homestead
    In our early manhood's prim...

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The Old Bachelor's Story.

It was an humble cottage,
Snug in a rustic lane,
Geraniums and fuschias peep'd
From every window-pane;

The dark-leaved ivy dressed its walls,
Houseleek adorned the thatch;
The door was standing open wide, -
They had no need of latch.

And close besides the corner
There stood an old stone well,
Which caught a mimic waterfall,
That warbled as it fell.

The cat, crouched on the well-worn steps,
Was blinking in the sun;
The birds sang out a welcome
To the morning just begun.

An air of peace and happiness
Pervaded all the scene;
The tall trees formed a back ground
Of rich and varied green;

And all was steeped in quietness,
Save nature's music wild,
When all at once, methought I heard
The sobbing of a ch...

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To The Evening Star.

The woods waved welcome in the breeze,
    When, many years ago,
Lured by the songs of birds and bees,
    I sought the dell below;
And there, in that secluded spot,
    Where silver streamlets roved,
Twined the green ivy round the cot
    Of her I fondly loved.

In dreams still near that porch I stand
    To listen to her vow!
Still feel the pressure of her hand
    Upon my burning brow!
And here, as in the days gone by,
    With joy I meet her yet,
And mark the love-light of her eyes,
    Fringed with its lash of jet.

O fleeting vision of the past!
    From memory glide away!
Ye were too beautiful to last,
    Too good to longer stay!
But why, attesting evening star,
    This sermon sad recall:
"THAN LOVE AND LOSE 'TI...

George Pope Morris