6/20/11

What a Father Wants to Know

Here is a little poem by a very endearing poet whose talent I stumbled upon when I found a little book by him in a used bookstore.   This one I offer especially in honor of Father's Day.  Any father with even the slightest romantic sentiment will find Edgar A Guest an inspiration and a guide.


You would take my girl away!
What is there that I can say
Save the things all fathers think,
Seldom put in printers ink?
Little care I for your fame,
O the glory you may claim,
Or the fortune you may earn;
These are not my deep concern--
This I really want to know,
Will you always love her so?

It is fine enough to tell
that to-day you're doing well;
I appreciate your skill
and I think someday you will
Climb the ladder of success
To your lasting happiness;
But if all this should be had
and my little girl be sad,
I'd regret my whole life through
Having given her to you.

Will you always love her so?
That is what I want to know.
Will you comfort her and stay
At her side from day to day?
Knowing she must bear your name,
Will you shield her from all shame?
This the burden on my mind,
Will you thoughtful be and kind?
All that matters is to know
That you'll always love her so.

taken from The Passing Throng , by Edgar A. Guest
published by Reilly & Lee co. Chicago U.S.A. 1923

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