Poems (Odom)/To My Father
For works with similar titles, see To My Father.
TO MY FATHER.ON HIS BIRTHDAY.
Written while a child at school.
Written while a child at school.
I greet thee, father, with delight, On this, thy natal day,And thank the God, that spares thee still, To guard me on life's way.Without thee, joy would not be joy; Ah! life would have no charms,If I could never more find rest In thy paternal arms.
The hand of time upon thy head Is sprinkling hoary hair,The furrows deep upon thy brow Too truly tell of care.But memory still in gladness turns To some bright, happy hours,When o'er thy pathway sweetly bloomed Love's gayly tinted flowers;
When in the rosy dawn of youth, Thy loved one at thy side,She stood beneath the orange bower Thy newly plighted bride.Yes, tho' time's frost is on thy head, His furrows on thy brow,The love that warmed thy young heart then Burns there as brightly now.
Tho' many years may flee away, Tho' sorrows o'er thee roll,Still will the love-chords struck in youth Vibrate upon the soul.Life's sunny side has passed, and now, Thou gazest on the plainThat rolls afar beyond thine eye To endless joy or pain.
But though thy sun of mirth be set, No more to gild thy way,May gentle beams of holy peace Light thy declining day. May clouds ne'er hover o'er thy head, Thy sky be clear and mild,Shall be the true and constant prayer Of thy devoted child.
S. F. College, February 1, 1858,