From The Wit and Humor of America, edited by Marshall P. Wilder, Volume IV, New York and London: Funk and Wagnalls and Company, 1911; pp. 652-653.
I REMEMBER, I REMEMBER
BY PHŒBE CARY
I remember, I remember,
The house where I was wed,
And the little room from which that night,
My smiling bride was led.
She didn’t come a wink too soon,
Nor make too long a stay;
But now I often wish her folks
Had kept the girl away!
I remember, I remember,
Her dresses, red and white,
Her bonnets and her caps and cloaks, —
They cost an awful sight!
The “corner lot” on which I built,
And where my brother met
At first my wife, one washing-day, —
That man is single yet!
I remember, I remember,
Where I was used to court,
And thought that all of married life
Was just such pleasant sport: —
My spirit flew in feathers then,
No care was on my brow;
I scarce could wait to shut the gate, —
I’m not so anxious now!
653
I remember, I remember,
My dear one’s smile and sigh;
I used to think her tender heart
Was close against the sky.
It was a childish ignorance,
But now it soothes me not
To know I’m farther off from Heaven
Than when she wasn’t got.