Page:The Collected Poems of Dora Sigerson Shorter.djvu/110

“Ahone,” she said, “to so deceive
My father blind and grey,
For little store shall bear the seed
That I have sown to-day.”

She bent to weep, but by her side
A child stood all alone.
“And 'tis in vain,” poor Kathleen cried,
“That here you make your moan.

“For I have left no gifts to give,
No doth, no food, no gold;
So I must drive you forth,” she said,
“To perish in the cold.”

She took the child unto her heart,
And then her tears let fall,
“Oh, woe it is to bid you go,
And you so weak and small.”

She set him down upon his way
And kissed his cheek and chin,
And then she saw a golden thread
He held his hands within.

“I met a lady on the road,”
The little one replied,
“She said this thread would weave a gown
To robe a happy bride.

“She bade me when I met with one
Whose mercy was so great
She'd give her very tears away
In pity for my state—

“She said, ‘Give her this silken thread
A wedding gown to weave.’”
Fair Kathleen took the golden ball,
But yet her heart did grieve,