Childhood's Farewell

Printed in the Seventh Annual Report
Of The New York Institution for the Blind
February, 1843 Page 17

Come back, oh, come back to this bosom once more,
The days of my childhood, long, passed away;
To the warbles that caroled their melodies o'er,
I listened as buoyant, as happy as they;
Bright garlands I twined of the wild fragrant flower,
As I basked in the sunshine that smiled through the bower.

Oh, where is the oak that majestically stood,
And braved the rude tempest that swept o'er its head?
Oh, where's my cottage beside the green wood
'Tis echo all mournful replies, they are fled.
They are fled, and a stranger forgotten I roam;
Farewell to my kindred, my long cherished home.

Come back, oh! come back to this desolate heart,
My youthful companions to friendship sincere-
Oh, why was I doomed from those loved ones to part,
To moisten their graves with affection's sad tear?-
They are gone, and a stranger unpitied I roam,
Farewell to my kindred, my own native home.