Thomas Cowherd
Thomas Cowherd Poems
Full thirty years of wedded bliss,
My darling wife, we have enjoyed;
And still I can with rapture kiss
Thy sweet, chaste lips-for I am void
...
Dear Bride of five-and-twenty years,
I gladly give to thee this song.
That thou wilt spurn it I've no fears,
For love still reigns within thee strong
...
I sing the Sewing Machine,
The blessings it brings to the fair.
Some of those blessings I've seen,
And therefore its praises declare.
...
Lily of the valley, this brief poetic sally
At the very least is due unto thee.
Thy fragrant wax-like flowers all freshened by Spring showers
Seem purity embodied unto me
...
Fire-fire-fire! Nigher still and nigher
Seem the tones of the 'Alarum bell' borne on the air!
Awaking with a start, what a sinking of the heart
Even the strong are apt to feel, ere they are well aware!
...
To the deep umbrage of our North back woods,
And near to Huron's wild romantic shore-
Where Winter's storms are seen in angry moods,
To make the Lake's waves dash with loudest roar-
...
A thousand joys, my darling wife,
Be thine on this our marriage day!
And now I'll sing; for such a life
As we have led deserves a lay
...
Ellen, on this glad occasion
I address to you a rhyme,
And in tones of sweet persuasion
Would advise you at this time
...
Hail to thee, Humming Bird
Beauteous and bright,
That flitt'st like a spirit
Before my rapt sight!
...
Dear friends, to this our social feast,
We bid you welcome gladly,
And trust you will not in the least
Spend moments with us sadly
...
Dear cousin, I hail you as Mother most brave,
Who crossed in mid-winter Atlantic's broad wave!
What you had to suffer in part I conceive,
Though no gloomy story you made me believe
...
My dearest children, do you know
That best of all things here below,
And knowing, you should always show
To one another
...
Christians of Brantford, list awhile,
An humble Rhymer speaks to you.
Perhaps the fact may cause a smile,
Though I speak not from motives vile
...
Stern Winter on foul mischief bent
Left his cold region of the North;
As his Advance-guard early sent
Loud howling blasts and snow storms forth
...
I saw a youthful mother lie
Upon the bed of death.
No bitter tears bedimmed her eye
Though parents, spouse, and friends were nigh
...
An humble poet-save the mark!
Wishes to give to you a lay
In honor of your wedding day,
But somehow labors in the dark
...
A task so painful, yet so justly due
To thee, my dear, my much respected Brother,
Rightly devolves on me whose heart beats true
In Zion's cause; yet, would it were another!
...
Ida, it is a burning shame
That thy short, sweet poetic name
Has not a single lay called forth
From my cranium since thy birth!
...
Sweetly asleep is Mary Ann,
In calmest infantile repose
Her lovely face no longer wan,
Seems lovelier still when in a doze
...
Come, dove-eyed peace-offspring of heaven, descend;
Thy calm, sweet influence do thou me lend;
Dispel the gloom that broods upon my mind;
Bid melancholy flee; make me resigned
...
Thomas Cowherd Biography
Thomas C. Cowherd (March 20, 1817 – April 4, 1907) was a tinsmith and poet. Cowherd was born in Kendal, Westmorland, England. He apprenticed as a tinsmith from age 13 to 20 in England. His family immigrated to Canada in 1837. Cowherd eventually settled on Colborne Street in Brantford, Ontario. He was President of the Brantford Branch Bible Society, President of the Brantford Mechanic's Institute and Literary Association, a school trustee, and was elected as a town councillor in 1869.He was a prolific poet and song writer. Much of his poetry appeared in newspapers. A collection, The Emigrant Mechanic and Other Tales in Verse", was published in 1884. His first marriage, to Ann Batty, produced five children. After her death, his second marriage, to Ann's sister Ellen, produced eleven more children. The Cowherd family were friends and associates of Alexander Graham Bell. Bell used the tinsmithing services of the Cowherds to help produce prototypes for the telephone, and to open the world's first telephone factory. He also called on them to string wire and to assist in demonstrations. Thomas spent many hours speaking with Alexander on the telephone between the Cowherd home in Brantford and the Bell Homestead. He died in Chatham, Ontario.)
The Best Poem Of Thomas Cowherd
To My Wife, On The 30th Anniversary Of Our Wedding Day
Full thirty years of wedded bliss,
My darling wife, we have enjoyed;
And still I can with rapture kiss
Thy sweet, chaste lips-for I am void
Of every fear that thou wilt fail
To love me till our race is run.
Our mutual love is still as hale
As though we had but just begun
To link our fate
In marriage state,
Where joys for sorrows compensate.
So, filled with sense of God's rich love,
Let us those decades three review;
For though we have with trials strove
To keep our happiness still new,
We've had Religion's holy aid
Still shedding sunshine on our way,
As we pursued our humble trade
And struggled on from day to day.
Our hearts imbued
With gratitude
Call loud for vows to God renewed.
Now looking back through all these years,
'Midst chequered scenes of daily life,
A family of eight appears
For thee to love and serve, my wife!
Thou wert indeed a youthful bride,
But weak in body-not in heart-
As thou my cherished hearth beside
Sat down, content to do thy part.
And well I know
No lot below
Was e'er more free from earthly woe.
In this review I can't forget
How oft in sickness, grief and pain,
Thy loving heart our needs has met,
While solace rich came in thy train.
Nor when thyself on sick bed lay,
Racked with Neuralgia's maddening pangs.
How Patience kept the wolf at bay,
And made him soon withdraw his fangs.
My darling sweet,
'Tis surely meet
I thee with song like this should greet!
Nor yet when by that dreadful fall
Thy limbs were bruised, thy system shook,
How easily I can recall
Each winning smile, each tender look,
As I attempted to alleve
Thy sufferings great for many days.
And while I could not help but grieve,
I saw thy meekness with amaze;
For no dread pain
Could triumph gain
O'er thee, nor did'st thou once complain.
Then, O my darling, join with me
To celebrate our Father's praise!
For he has kept us lovingly
From hankering after worldly ways.
Raise then our Ebenezer high!
Join, children, in my joyful song!
Lay ever disagreement by,
That you in, union may be strong.
Thus let us wait
At Wisdom's gate,
Till Christ in turn shall each translate.
Thomas Cowherd Comments
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