Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, LUCY, by ELIZA KEARY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

LUCY, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: I found her sitting among the toys
Last Line: "whole-hearted till her one supreme has come."
Subject(s): Children; Childhood


I FOUND her sitting among the toys,
On a low stool with idle fingers on her knees,
While the slant sunlight crowned her, and as it streamed
Along the shop through tiers of shelves,
Touched the quaint toys with life. I came to her,
And put my hand upon her arm, saying,
"What is it, Lucy? The clean floor quiet
From pattering feet, and these smooth shelves, and you
Alone! No children peering up and down?
Only bright motes swimming upon the dusty air!"
She said, "The children will not come again
To buy, nor I stay here to sell." "But why?"
I asked her trembling, for the sweet head drooped
So low. "Is it some trouble, Lucy -- ruin?
May I know?" Then she looked up at me
With her clear eyes, and said, "No trouble, madam,
Only a change that breaks my life in two.
Perhaps, one liker to me, one as poor
As all my kin are poor, and one with years
Few as my own -- this had been more my dream:
I never thought of love in golden guise,
Though I have dreamed one should be this and this,
And all for me -- not what he is, madam,
He who has come to break my life in two.
Yes, let him break it; he has taken me
With love and tenderness like a father's -- "
"But is not your young dream, my Lucy?" "No,"
The sweet voice made answer, and the drooping head
Drooped lower till it fell on trembling hands.
I sighed, "Weak woman, who cannot keep
Whole-hearted till her one supreme has come."






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