Audrey, these men and women I have known I have brought together in a book for you, So that my child some day when she is grown May know the friendly folk her father knew. Wondering how fathers can be so absurd, Perhaps you'll take it idly from the shelves, And, reading, hear, as once I overheard, These men and women talking to themselves. And so find out how they faced life and earned, As you one day must earn, a livelihood, And how, in spite of everything, they learned To take their luck through life and find it good. And, maybe, as you share each hope and fear And all the secrets that they never told, For their sake you'll forgive your father, dear, Almost, for being so absurd and old. And may it somewhat help to make amends To think that, in their sorrow and their mirth, Such men and women were your father's friends In old incredible days before your birth. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...CHILD'S EVENING HYMN by SABINE BARING-GOULD THE CHOIRMASTER'S BURIAL by THOMAS HARDY PHILLIS INAMOROTA by LANCELOT ANDREWES A SURVEY OF THE AMPHITHEATRE by MOSES BROWNE ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE by VALERY YAKOVLEVICH BRYUSOV THE WANDERER: 1. IN ITALY: ROOT AND LEAF by EDWARD ROBERT BULWER-LYTTON SPRING by MADISON JULIUS CAWEIN A SONG OF ARLA, DURING HER ENTHUSIASM by ANNE BATTEN CRISTALL |