Poems (Rice)/To a dear Friend

by Maria Theresa Rice

TO A DEAR FRIEND.

OF thee let me beg such lines not to send;
 No, I could bear, better bear, a cross word,
Than thoughts and emotions so sweet, loving friend,
 Which have my dull pulses all stirred.

I may not possess the gift and the grace,
 The exuberance, the skill, and the art
Which is thine; but O, what can ever efface
 Those beautiful lines from my heart?

If these are impromptu, pray never be led
 To study, or try any other to sing;
Not to me, but remember my poor heart and head;
 And to these shall my memory cling.