SOMEBODY'S DARLING

By Maria La Coste



Into a ward of the whitewashed halls,

Where the dead and dying lay,

Wounded by bayonets, shells, and balls,

Somebody's darling was borne one day;



Somebody's darling, so young and brave,

Wearing yet on his pale, sweet face,

Soon to be hid by the dust of the grave,



The lingering light of his boyhood's grace.



Matted and damp are the curls of gold,

Kissing the snow of that fair young brow;

Pale are the lips of delicate mold

Somebody's darling is dying now.



Back from his beautiful, blue-veined brow,

Brush all the wandering waves of gold;

Cross his hands, on his bosom now;

Somebody's darling is still and cold.



Kiss him once for somebody's sake,

Murmur a prayer soft and low;

One bright curl from its fair mates take;

They were somebody's pride, you know;



Somebody's hand has rested there;

Was it a mother's, soft and white?

And have the lips of a sister fair

Been baptized in the waves of light?



God knows best! he was somebody's love.

Somebody's heart enshrined him there;

Somebody wafted his name above,

Night and morn, on the wings of prayer.



Somebody wept when he marched away,

Looking so handsome, brave, and grand;

Somebody's kiss on his forehead lay;

Somebody clung to his parting hand.



Somebody's watching and waiting for him,

Yearning to hold him again to her heart;

And there he lies, with his blue eyes dim,

And the smiling, childlike lips apart.



Tenderly bury the fair young dead,

Pausing to drop on his grave a tear;

Carve on the wooden slab at his head,

"Somebody's darling slumbers here."





DEFINITIONS:

Bayonet, a short, pointed iron weapon, fitted to the muzzle of a gun.

Darling, one dearly loved.

Lingering, protracted.

Matted, twisted together.

Delicate, soft and fair.

Mold, shape.

Wandering, straying.

Enshrined, cherished.

Wafted, caused to float.

Yearning, being eager, longing.

Tenderly, gently, kindly.

****

Top of Page

< BACK    NEXT >

| Home | Reading Room | The New McGuffey Fourth Reader