Call Me Pet Names

by Frances Sargent Osgood

For works with similar titles, see A Song.

Call me pet names, dearest! Call me a bird,
That flies to thy breast at one cherishing word,
That folds its wild wings there, ne'er dreaming of flight,
That tenderly sings there in loving delight!
Oh! my sad heart keeps pining for one fond word,-
Call me pet names, dearest! Call me thy bird!

Call me sweet names, darling! Call me a flower,
That lives in the light of thy smile each hour,
That droops when its heaven-thy heart-grows cold,
That shrinks from the wicked, the falst and bold,
That blooms for thee only, through sunlight and shower;
Call me pet names, darling! Call me thy flower!

Call me fond names, dearest! Call me a star,
Whose smile's beaming welcome thou feel'st from afar,
Whose light is the clearest, the truest to thee,
When the "night-time of sorrow" steals o'er life's sea:
Oh! trust thy rich bark, where its warm rays are,
Call me pet names, dearest! Call me thy star!

Call me dear names, darling! Call me thine own!
Speak to me always in Love's low tone!
Let not thy look nor thy voice grow cold:
Let my fond worship thy being enfold;
Love me forever, and love me alone!
Call me pet names, darling! Call me thine own!