TO WILLIE.
Willie, may thy life abound In every choicest pleasure; And ever may thy heart be found True to thy loving mother.
Ever keep her memory near, Wherever you may wander; You'll never find one so dear As thy own loving mother.
Never grieve her tender heart: It may not be much longer Ere you're call'd upon to part With thy own loving mother.
Love her truly ere life's fled, That no regret may linger When within her clay-cold bed At last shall rest thy mother.
Then when the eve of life declines, And thou art called away, May thy light there brightly shine, In spirit-love with mother.
Dear Willie, ere I bid adieu, I trust that you'll remember The one who penn'd these lines to yon, Thy own true loving mother.