Rovers Rest

 By parents I would not be pinned,
 Nor in my home abide,
For I was wanton as the wind
 And tameless as the tide;
So scornful of domestic hearth,
 And bordered garden path,
I sought the wilder ways of earth,
 The roads of wrath.

It scares me now to think of how
 Foolhardily I fared;
Though mighty scarred of pelt and pow
 A dozen deaths I've dared;
Yet there are trails I would explore,
 And wilds that for me wait . . .
Alas! I'll wander nevermore,--
 The hour's too late.

The folks are at my picture show,
 I smoke my pipe and sigh.
Soft-slippered by the ember's glow
 A baby-sitter I.
Behold! In dressing-gown of mauve,
 To comfort reconciled,
A rover rocks the cradle of
 His new grand-child.

Form: Ballad Comments

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