CUB LOVE by CHARLES LOUIS HENRY WAGNER

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.

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

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