Page:Florence Earle Coates Poems 1898 59.jpg

 MA BELLE

world is full of charm, ma belle,

And blithe as you are young;

It echoes with a silver note

The lispings of your tongue;

It lays upon your fairy hand

A touch as light as down;

It smiles approval, and, ma belle,

You have not felt its frown.

The world is very rich, ma belle,

And all its gifts are yours.

It bows before you, little one,

And while the mood endures,

With roses, freshly garlanded,

Your pathway bright adorns;

But roses fade, ma belle, ma belle—

And there are left the thorns!

To snare your feet, the world, ma belle,

Has spread a shining net,

What wonder then, believing child,

If you awhile forget,

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