Poems (Smith)/To Willie (Willie, may thy life be pure)

by Martha A. Smith

TO WILLIE.

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Willie, may thy life be pure,
 In years as you grow older,
And ever may thy love endure
 For thy loving mother.

Ever keep her memory dear,
 Wherever you may wander;
In after years none will appear
 So loving as thy mother.

When griefs oppress or sorrows rend,
 There's none so true and tender,
So loving, fond, unto life's end,
 As thy own loving mother.

Never grieve her tender heart,
 It may not be much longer
Ere you're called upon to part
 With thy loving mother.

Love her truly ere life's fled,
 That no regret may linger
Around thy heart when with the dead
 Shall sleep thy loving mother.

May thy young life ever abound
 With joy and choicest pleasure;
Thy loving heart ever be found
 True to thy loving mother.

Then when the eve of life declines,
 And thou art called away,
May thy light there brightly shine,
 With thy loving mother.

Dear Willie, ere I bid adieu,
 I trust that you'll remember
Her who penn'd these lines to you,
 Thy own true loving mother.