Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE WEDDING GIFT, by MINNA IRVING


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE WEDDING GIFT, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: In the garret under the sloping eaves
Last Line: To every girl on her marriage day.
Alternate Author Name(s): Michener, Harry, Mrs.
Subject(s): Marriage; Weddings; Husbands; Wives


IN THE GARRET under the sloping eaves
Stood Grandmother Granger's old hair trunk,
With battered bureaus and broken chairs,
And a spinning wheel and similar junk.
The hirsute cover was worn in spots;
'Twas once the hide of a brindle cow,
That grazed of yore in the meadows green
Where Harlem flats are towering now.

I used to climb the garret stairs
On a rainy day and lift the lid
And loose the fragrance of olden times
That under the faded finery hid --
Damask roses and lavender,
Delicate odors, fine and faint,
Clinging still to the crumpled folds
Of silks and muslins and challies quaint.

Fans and slippers and veils were there,
Beads of amber and yellow lace,
Coral earrings and Paisley shawls,
And the big pink bonnet that framed her face
With its golden curls and soft blue eyes,
And the dimpled chin and the laughing lip,
When Grandfather Granger took his bride
And the smart new trunk on a wedding trip.

It was the soul of a garden old,
Dreaming under the stars, I freed.
Jasmine, lilies, and rosemary,
Stately marigolds gone to seed.
Thyme and pansy and mignonette,
Sage and balsam and love-in-a-mist,
Where Grandfather Granger, a bold young blade,
Scaled the walls to the secret tryst.

To the creak and sway of a four-horse stage
He kissed her hand in its silken mitt,
And her girlish cheek that was like a rose
As her blissful blushes mantled it.
The honeymoon never waned, they say --
The pair were lovers through all the years,
Gray-haired sweethearts, tender and true,
Sharing life with its smiles and tears.

The flowery frocks and the ancient trunk,
And Grandmother Granger, too, are dust,
But something precious and sweet and rare
Survives the havoc of moth and rust;
Love with the wings of bright romance,
And the eyes of youth that are always gay --
Grandmother Granger's wedding gift
To every girl on her marriage day.





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