Our Herbert Boy and Herbert's Response

By Carrie E. Joslin

It was summer when he came to us,
    A happy laughing child,
With blue eyes soft and tender
    And all his nature mild.
For six short years he was our own,
    Obedient and good.
We gave him tender love and care,
    He worked as boys should.
In the evening, when the sun was low.
    He took the dog to roam,
Thru' the wild wood pasture,
    To bring "old Cherry" home.
In the morning very early,
    Thru' rain or sun or snow,
Off to school with books and lunch,
    Our little boy would go.
He grew in grace and knowledge,
    And lived by the golden rule.
On Sunday he was always
    In the church and Sunday School.
So, now at night when we have finished
    All our labor for the day,
And we gather by the fireside,
    With our own dear children there,
As we soothe their every sorrow,
    Or we mingle in their glee,
Even in our hearts we're thinking,
    Of the boy who learned to roam.
And we pray for God to bless him,
    And to bring him safely home.
©1926 Carrie E. Joslin

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RESPONSE

To Aunt Carrie & Uncle Artie
(From all their "boys" by Herbert) In the hills of old Missouri
    'neath summer's sultry skies,
Stands a cottage sweet and lovely;
    In it "The Love Light" lies,
I see a couple sitting on a porch--
    now far away.
They have love for one another, true love--
    for which many pray.
They have children who have wandered
    to make their home out in the west.
A few short years we spent with them,
    seems now like a pleasant dream.
Years that tell of fun and pleasure,
    the shortest years we have seen.
Then, one day the dream was ended,
    As all dreams surely do.
But, I'll never forget the cottage,
    and the goodness of those two.
In my home in California,
    I close my eyes to rest--
And I dream of that good couple,
    Who, I'm sure, deserve the best!
©circa 1926 Herbert Victor Joslin
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