Do you remember the name I wore – <br /> The old pet-name of Little Queen – <br />In the dear, dead days that are no more, <br /> The happiest days of our lives, I ween? <br />For we loved with that passionate love of youth <br /> That blesses but once with its perfect bliss, - <br />A love that, in spite of its trust and truth, <br /> Seems never to thrive, in a world like this. <br /> <br />I lived for you, and you lived for me; <br /> All was centred in “Little Queen”; <br />And never a thought in our hearts had we <br /> That strife or trouble could come between, <br />What utter sinking of self it was! <br /> How little we cared for the world of men! <br />For love’s fair kingdom, and loves’ sweet laws, <br /> Were all of the world and life to us then. <br /> <br />But a love like ours was a challenge to fate; <br /> She rang down the curtains and shifted the scene; <br />Yet sometimes now, when the day grows late, <br /> I can hear you calling for Little Queen; <br />For a happy home and a busy life <br /> Can never wholly crowd out our past; <br />In the twilight pauses that come from strife, <br /> You will think of me while life shall last. <br /> <br />And however sweet the voice of fame <br /> May sing to me of a great world’s praise, <br />I shall long sometimes for the old pet-name <br /> That you gave to me in the dear, dead days; <br />And nothing the angel band can say, <br /> When I reach the shores of the great Unseen, <br />Can please me so much as on that day <br /> To hear your greeting of “Little Queen.”<br /><br />Ella Wheeler Wilcox<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/little-queen/
