Welcome! Poem by Martin Farquhar Tupper

Yes! welcome, right welcome -- and give me your hand,--
I like not to keep in the cold!
If new friends are true friends I can't understand
Why hearts should hold back till they're old;
For life is so short, and there's so much to do,
And so many pleasures and cares--
And somewhere I've read that, though angels
are
few,
They're sure to be met unawares!

The eye of sincerity shines like a star
Through the clouds of suspicion and doubt;
I love its fair lustre, and lure it from far,
And wouldn't for worlds put it out:
Away with such wisdom, as risking the chance
Of killing young love with old fears--
The face that is honest is known at a glance,
And needn't be studied for years!

And when petty Prudence would put me to school
About caution, and care, and all that,
I trust that, like some folks, I yield to the rule
Of wearing a head in my hat;
But more that remains is better than brains,
And I know not that some folks
are
blest,
Like me, with a share in a custom more rare,
Of wearing a heart in my breast!

Then come with all welcome! I fear not to fling
Reserve to the winds and the waves,
And never can cling to the cold-blooded thing
Society makes of its slaves:
Thou dignified dullard, so cloudy and cold,
Get out of the sunshine for me;
But, hearty good friend! whether new one or old,
A Welcome for Ever to thee!