Poems (Davidson)/Ruth's Answer to Naomi

by Lucretia Maria Davidson

RUTH'S ANSWER TO NAOMI.

Entreat me not, I must not hear;
Mark but this sorrow-beaming tear;
Thy answer's written deeply now
On this warm cheek and clouded brow;
'Tis gleaming o'er this eye of sadness,
Which only near thee sparkles gladness.

The hearts most dear to us are gone,
And thou and I are left alone;
Where'er thou wanderest, I will go,
I'll follow thee through joy or woe;
Shouldst thou to other countries fly,
Where'er thou lodgest, there will I.

Thy people shall my people be,
And to thy God I'll bend the knee;
Whither thou fliest, will I fly,
And where thou diest, I will die;
And the same sod which pillows thee
Shall freshly, sweetly bloom for me.