Dear friends and neighbors, one and all,
I'm pleased to meet you here to-day;
...
My dear, the bard his greeting sends,
And wishes you and all your friends,
A happy birthday meeting.
...
Esteemed young friend
This book I send,
I know full well thou wilt receive;
...
Maiden, lovely, young and gay,
In the bloom of life's young May!
Sweet perfumes are in the air;
Songs of gladness ev'rywhere!
...
My cousin fair, dear Mary B,
Excuse my long neglect I pray,
And pardon too, the homely strain,
In which I sing this rustic lay.
...
How are you, George, my rhyming brother?
We should be kinder to each other,
For we are kindred souls at least;
...
The mysteries of life and death,
Lie hidden from all human ken,
We know it is the vital breath
Of God, that makes us living men.
...
Dear Mollie, in thy early days,
While treading childhood's dreamy maze,
Peruse this book with care:
Peruse it by the rising sun;
...
Their schoolboy days have form'd a theme,
For nearly all the bards I know,
But mine are like a fading dream
Which happen'd three score years ago.
...