Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, CUB LOVE, by CHARLES LOUIS HENRY WAGNER


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

CUB LOVE, by                    
First Line: I am thinking tonight of the sweethearts I had
Last Line: The best in the world for my wife.
Subject(s): Courtship; Kisses; Love - Marital; Man-woman Relationships; Marriage; Youth; Wedded Love; Marriage - Love; Male-female Relations; Weddings; Husbands; Wives


I am thinking tonight of the sweethearts I had
In my youthful, impressible age,
And I laugh as I glance through Life's book at the lad
Whose picture I see on each page.

I remember quite well every sweet little miss
Who appealed to a boy's tender heart.
And I'll never forget the first innocent kiss
Which a maid of fifteen did impart.

And on every page I can still read each name,
Such sweet little forms I can see
Standing out in relief, bold, distinct, and the same
As when they spelled "ONLY" to me.

The first one I note is a fairy-like face,
With eyes of the lovliest blue,
A form most divine and embodied with grace,
A picture that's equalled by few.

I was but a boy of a dozen years old,
Even then yellow locks and blue eyes
Seemed to dazzle me more than could riches or gold,
And my first love I did not disguise.

But the "Angel of Death" came and stole her away,
Life seemed but a blank then, at best,
And though years have since flown, I remember today
Her face and the way she was dressed.

But time rolls along, and cures all our ills,
And a boy's heart, though cracked, can be patched,
And my own, I'll confess, responded to thrills
For another sweet girl unattached.

I was fifteen or so, and she was the same,
I first saw her when taking a dip
In the old Baptist church, where the waters reclaim
Poor sinners from Satan's tight grip.

With her flowing white robe and her chestnut brown hair,
Can you wonder that I did succumb?
I felt that my fate was decided right there,
My heart seemed to beat like a drum.

Then some pretext I found to make myself known,
I remember I "shined up" to "Ma,"
And soon this young queen had ascended Love's throne,
And seemed to be Love's ruling star.

I smile now a bit as I'm writing this line,
When I think of the first kiss I stole,
As she said "No" to me in a manner divine,
Yet helped me attain that sweet goal!

I don't quite remember our drifting apart,
Yet I know that another fair maid
Soon usurped throne and love of that queen of my heart,
And I to the new, homage paid.

I really was smitten by Cupid this time,
And love unreturned, was my fate,
She looked like an angel from Heaven, sublime,
But me she could not tolerate!

I sent some sweet roses on her natal day.
There were eighteen, all pretty and white,
And I really believe she gave them away
And laughed at the sender outright.

That's the way often times, what you want you don't get,
Though tonight I can truthfully say
'Tis well that I failed, for since then I have met
The right one, who's Mrs. today.

I can see in Life's book, full a score whom I thought
Would some day be cooking my meals,
But betwixt you and me not a one in the lot
For a moment to me now appeals.

Some were light, some were dark, some were short, some were tall,
And each had a charm quite apart
From the rest of their kind, though not one had all
The things which appealed to my heart.

And somehow I think as I look round and see
The loved ones who now fill my life,
That God had ordained and given to me
The best in the world for my wife.





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