C.D. Warner, et al., comp. The Library of the World’s Best Literature.
An Anthology in Thirty Volumes. 1917.

Longing

I LONG to feel thy little arm’s embrace,

Thy little silver-sounding voice to hear;

I long for thy warm kisses on my face,

And for thy birdlike carol, blithe and clear.

I long for every childish, loving word;

And for thy little footsteps, fairy light,

That hither, thither moved, and ever stirred

My heart with them to gladness infinite.

And for thy hair I long—that halo blest

Hanging in golden glory round thy brow.

My child, can aught such longing lull to rest?

Nay, heaven’s bliss alone can end it now.