Eugene Field Poems

Out of the woods by the creek cometh a calling for Peter,
And from the orchard a voice echoes and echoes it over;
Down in the pasture the sheep hear that strange crying for Peter,
Over the meadows that call is aye and forever repeated.
...

You, who have compassed land and sea,
Now all unburied lie;
All vain your store of human lore,
...

Of all the opry-houses then obtaining in the West
The one which Milton Tootle owned was, by all odds, the best;
Milt, being rich, was much too proud to run the thing alone,
So he hired an "acting manager," a gruff old man named Krone--
...

Good editor Dana-God bless him, we say-
Will soon be afloat on the main,
Will be steaming away
Through the mist and the spray
...

'Twas in the Crescent City not long ago befell
The tear-compelling incident I now propose to tell;
...

In yonder old cathedral
Two lovely coffins lie;
In one, the head of the state lies dead,
And a singer sleeps hard by.
...

Ovarus mine,
Plant thou the vine
Within this kindly soil of Tibur;
Nor temporal woes,
...

Still serve me in my age, I pray,
As in my youth, O faithful one;
For years I've brushed thee every day-
Could Socrates have better done?
...

'Tis spring! the boats bound to the sea;
The breezes, loitering kindly over
The fields, again bring herds and men
...

Ho, pretty bee, did you see my croodlin doo?
Ho, little lamb, is she jinkin' on the lea?
Ho, bonnie fairy, bring my dearie back to me--
Got a lump o' sugar an' a posie for you,
...