Jonathan E. Hoag

“ And children gaze at mamma's placid face,
While crepe hangs sadly by the cottage door.
"Why fall those crystal tears, my mamma dear?
We have the home, where sway the leafy vines,
Where budding flowers bedeck the velvet lawn,
And crimson climbing rose the trellis twines.
"Pray, then, what need we now, my mamma dear?
We have the birds that sing in verdant bowers;
Among the blossoms buzz the busy bees,
Whilst health and friends in bounteous store are ours. ”