Poems (Bell)/Dukie Boy
DUKIE BOY.(Died Aug. 11, 1889.)
He was only a horse! Just a horse, you know,But always faithful And ready to goThrough all weathers, Cold or warm.He carried his master And through many a storm.
Only a horse! It seems so queerPerhaps to you That I shed a tear;But I do, I cannot help it,We miss him so!
Only a horse! Good faithful friend,No one over Your grave will bend:Quietly you rest In the wood, alone,Naught marks the spot. Not even a stone.
But we'll not forget you. Good, tried Duke,What care I, if They do rebuke,And say why cry For a horse?Does nobody care?
Yes, there's one other Who misses you, too,The master you carried So long, faithful one,Who mourns you Now, but yourWork is done.
There's an empty stall In the barn today,There's a sorrowing heart, Is it always the wayThat what we love Most, is taken?
Good-bye, Dukie Boy! You are "only a horse,"And they say: be thankful It is no worse;"And we are, but We miss you all the same,With a sorrow, Duke. We cannot name.And so I'll be quiet And mourn alone,But it seems as if A friend were gone!