Page:All quiet along the Potomac and other poems.djvu/353

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CRADLE AND GRAVE.
347

CRADLE AND GRAVE.

March 16, 1856.

A ROUND a cradle courtiers bent
Wherein a babe slept royally
Beneath the purple robe of state,
Gemmed thick with broidered golden bee.

That tiny rosy palm held fast
The slender link of empire s chain,
On which hung many a waiting hope
Of dynasty enthroned again.

Kisses of welcome met its breath,
A happy mother s blessing fell
From pallid lips above the child,
Whose birth-cry stilled a fun ral knell,

Whilst cannon thundered out the news,
Flags bloomed like flowers in the air,
And down the brilliant avenues
Re-echoed vivas ev ry where.

June 1, 1879.


Above poor Louis last low couch
Only the tangled grasses bent,
As though in pity for the lad
So early from Life s battle sent.

No vivas woke that tropic air;
Only the mouths of wounds agape