Page:Poems Angier.djvu/154

SONG OF THE CONTENTED ONE.

Once, in a quiet village home,
 This cheerful song was heard;
The melody seemed sweeter far,
 Than carol of a bird;
I paused and listened to the notes,
 As they stole, one by one;
But I may not tell who tuned the lay
 That blithely thus begun:

"Contented, yes, contented—
 Why should I ask for more?
Though all may call my stock but small,
 Say scanty is my store.
A home where calm-browed Peace presides,
 Where Love holds gentle sway;
Drives dark suspicion and distrust
 From heart and hearth away.

True, ours is not a dainty board,
 With foreign luxuries spread;
But frugal is our daily fare—
 Old-fashioned, home-made bread;