| |
| “LITTLE Haly! Little Haly!” cheeps the robin in the tree; | |
| “Little Haly!” sighs the clover, “Little Haly!” moans the bee; | |
| “Little Haly! Little Haly!” calls the kill-deer at twilight; | |
| And the katydids and crickets hollers “Haly!” all the night. | |
| |
| The sunflowers and the hollyhawks droops over the garden fence; | 5 |
| The old path down the garden-walks still holds her footprints’ dents; | |
| And the well-sweep’s swingin’ bucket seems to wait fer her to come | |
| And start it on its wortery errant down the old bee-gum. | |
| |
| The bee-hives all is quiet; and the little Jersey steer, | |
| When any one comes nigh it, acts so lone-some-like and queer; | 10 |
| And the little Banty chickens kindo’ cutters faint and low, | |
| Like the hand that now was feedin’ ’em was one they did n’t know. | |
| |
| They ’s sorrow in the wavin’ leaves of all the apple-trees; | |
| And sorrow in the harvest-sheaves, and sorrow in the breeze; | |
| And sorrow in the twitter of the swallers ’round the shed; | 15 |
| And all the song her red-bird sings is “Little Haly’s dead!” | |
| |
| The medder ’pears to miss her, and the pathway through the grass, | |
| Whare the dewdrops ust to kiss her little bare feet as she passed; | |
| And the old pin in the gate-post seems to kindo’-sorto’ doubt | |
| That Haly’s little sunburnt hands ’ll ever pull it out. | 20 |
| |
| Did her father er her mother ever love her more ’n me, | |
| Er her sisters er her brother prize her love more tendurly? | |
| I question—and what answer?—only tears, and tears alone, | |
| And ev’ry neghbor’s eyes is full o’ tear-drops as my own. | |
| |
| “Little Haly! Little Haly!” cheeps the robin in the tree; | 25 |
| “Little Haly!” sighs the clover; “Little Haly!” moans the bee; | |
| “Little Haly! Little Haly!” calls the kill-deer at twilight, | |
| And the katydids and crickets hollers “Haly!” all the night. | |
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