Domestic Poems.

“It’s hame, hame, hame.”— A. CUNNINGHAM.

“There’s no place like home.”— CLARI.
1. Hymeneal Retrospections.

O KATE! my dear Partner, through joy and through strife¹!

When I look back at Hymen’s dear day,

Not a lovelier bride ever chang’d to a wife,

Though you’re now so old, wizen’d, and gray!

Those eyes, then, were stars, shining rulers of fate!

But as liquid as stars in a pool;

Though now they’re so dim, they appear, my dear Kate,

Just like gooseberries boil’d for a fool!

That brow was like marble, so smooth and so fair;

Though it’s wrinkled so crookedly² now,

As if time, when those furrows³ were made by the share,

Had been tipsy whilst driving his plough!

Your nose, it was such as the sculptors⁴ all chose,

When a Venus demanded their skill;

Though now it can hardly be reckon’d a nose,

But a sort of Poll-Parroty bill!

Your mouth, it was then quite a bait for the bees,

Such a nectar there hung on each lip;

Though now it has taken that lemon-like squeeze,

Not a blue-bottle comes for a sip⁵!

Your chin, it was one of Love’s favorite haunts,

From its dimple he could not get loose;

Though now the neat hand of a barber it wants,

Or a singe⁷, like the breast of a goose!

How rich were those locks, so abundant and full,

With their ringlets of auburn so deep!

Though now they look only like frizzles of wool,

By a bramble torn off from a sheep!

That neck, not a swan could excel it in grace,

While in whiteness it vied with your arms;

Though now a grave ‘kerchief you properly place,

To conceal⁸ that scrag-end of your charms!

Your figure was tall, then, and perfectly⁹ straight,

Though it now has two twists from upright —

But bless you! still bless you! my Partner! my Kate!

Though you be such a perfect old fright!
2.

The sun was slumbering¹⁰ in the West.

My daily labors¹¹ past;

On Anna’s soft and gentle breast

My head reclined at last; —

The darkness clos’d around, so dear

To fond congenial souls,

And thus she murmur’d at my ear,

“My love, we’re out of coals!”

“That Mister Bond has call’d again,

Insisting on his rent;

And all the Todds are coming up

To see us, out of Kent; —

I quite forgot to tell you John

Has had a tipsy fall; —

I’m sure there’s something going on

With that vile¹² Mary Hall! —”

“Miss Bell has bought the sweetest silk,

And I have bought the rest —

Of course, if we go out of town,

Southend will be the best. —

I really think the Jones’s house

Would be the thing for us; —

I think I told you Mrs. Pope

Had parted with her nus—

“Cook, by the way, came up to-day,

To bid me suit myself —

And what d’ye think? the rats have gnawed¹³

The victuals¹⁴ on the shelf. —

And, lord! there’s such a letter come,

Inviting¹⁵ you to fight!

Of course you don’t intend to go —

God bless you, dear, good night!”
3. A Parental¹⁶ Ode to My Son, Aged¹⁷ Three Years and Five Months.

Thou happy, happy elf!

(But stop — first let me kiss away that tear)—

Thou tiny image of myself!

(My love, he’s poking¹⁸ peas into his ear!)

Thou merry, laughing sprite!

With spirits feather-light,

Untouch’d by sorrow, and unsoil’d by sin —

(Good heav’ns! the child is swallowing a pin!)

Thou little tricksy Puck!

With antic toys so funnily bestuck,

Light as the singing bird that wings the air —

(The door! the door! he’ll tumble down the stair!)

Thou darling of thy sire!

(Why, Jane, he’ll set his pinafore a-fire!)

Thou imp⁶ of mirth and joy!

In Love’s dear chain so strong and bright a link,

Thou idol¹⁹ of thy parents —(Drat the boy!

There goes my ink!)

Thou cherub²⁰ — but of earth;

Fit playfellow for Fays, by moonlight pale,

In harmless sport and mirth,

(That dog will bite him if he pulls its tail!)

Thou human humming-bee, extracting honey

From ev’ry blossom in the world that blows,

Singing in Youth’s Elysium ever sunny,

(Another tumble! — that’s his precious nose!)

Thy father’s pride and hope!

(He’ll break the mirror with that skipping-rope!)

With pure heart newly stamp’d from Nature’s mint —

(Where did he learn that squint²¹?)

Thou young domestic dove!

(He’ll have that jug²² off, with another shove!)

Dear nurseling of the hymeneal nest!

(Are those torn clothes his best?)

Little epitome²³ of man!

(He’ll climb upon the table, that’s his plan!)

Touch’d with the beauteous tints²⁴ of dawning life —

(He’s got a knife!)

Thou enviable being!

No storms, no clouds, in thy blue sky foreseeing,

Play on, play on,

My elfin John!

Toss the light ball — bestride the stick —

(I knew so many cakes would make him sick!)

With fancies, buoyant as the thistle-down,

Prompting the face grotesque²⁵, and antic brisk,

With many a lamb-like frisk,

(He’s got the scissors, snipping²⁶ at your gown!)

Thou pretty opening rose!

(Go to your mother, child, and wipe your nose!)

Balmy and breathing music like the South,

(He really brings my heart into my mouth!)

Fresh as the morn, and brilliant as its star —

(I wish that window had an iron bar!)

Bold as the hawk²⁷, yet gentle as the dove —

(I’ll tell you what, my love,

I cannot write, unless he’s sent above!)
4. A Serenade.

“Lullaby, oh, lullaby!”

Thus I heard a father cry,

“Lullaby, oh, lullaby!”

The brat²⁸ will never shut an eye;

Hither come, some power divine!

Close his lids, or open mine!

“Lullaby, oh, lullaby!

What the devil makes him cry?

Lullaby, oh, lullaby!

Still he stares — I wonder why,

Why are not the sons of earth

Blind, like puppies, from the birth?”

“Lullaby, oh, lullaby!”

Thus I heard the father cry;

“Lullaby, oh, lullaby!

Mary, you must come and try! —

Hush²⁹, oh, hush, for mercy’s sake —

The more I sing, the more you wake!”

“Lullaby, oh, lullaby!

Fie, you little creature, fie!

Lullaby, oh, lullaby!

Is no poppy-syrup nigh?

Give him some, or give him all,

I am nodding to his fall!”

“Lullaby, oh, lullaby!

Two such nights, and I shall die!

Lullaby, oh, lullaby!

He’ll be bruised³⁰, and so shall I — ”

“How can I from bedposts keep,

When I’m walking in my sleep?”

“Lullaby, oh, lullaby!

Sleep his very looks deny —

Lullaby, oh, lullaby;

Nature soon will stupefy —

My nerves relax — my eyes grow dim —

Who’s that fallen — me or him?”

1 strife   

n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争

参考例句：

• We do not intend to be drawn into the internal strife.我们不想卷入内乱之中。
• Money is a major cause of strife in many marriages.金钱是造成很多婚姻不和的一个主要原因。

2 crookedly   

adv. 弯曲地，不诚实地

参考例句：

• A crow flew crookedly like a shadow over the end of the salt lake. 一只乌鸦像个影子般地在盐湖的另一边鬼鬼祟祟地飞来飞去的。

3 furrows   

n.犁沟( furrow的名词复数 )；（脸上的）皱纹v.犁田，开沟( furrow的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• I could tell from the deep furrows in her forehead that she was very disturbed by the news. 从她额头深深的皱纹上，我可以看出她听了这个消息非常不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dirt bike trails crisscrossed the grassy furrows. 越野摩托车的轮迹纵横交错地布满条条草沟。 来自辞典例句

4 sculptors   

雕刻家，雕塑家( sculptor的名词复数 )； [天]玉夫座

参考例句：

• He is one of Britain's best-known sculptors. 他是英国最有名的雕塑家之一。
• Painters and sculptors are indexed separately. 画家和雕刻家被分开，分别做了索引。

5 sip   

v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量

参考例句：

• She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。
• Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。

6 imp   

n.顽童

参考例句：

• What a little imp you are!你这个淘气包！
• There's a little imp always running with him.他总有一个小鬼跟着。

7 singe   

v.(轻微地)烧焦；烫焦；烤焦

参考例句：

• If the iron is too hot you'll singe that nightdress.如果熨斗过热，你会把睡衣烫焦。
• It is also important to singe knitted cloth to obtain a smooth surface.对针织物进行烧毛处理以获得光洁的表面也是很重要的。

8 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

9 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

10 slumbering   

微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• It was quiet. All the other inhabitants of the slums were slumbering. 贫民窟里的人已经睡眠静了。
• Then soft music filled the air and soothed the slumbering heroes. 接着，空中响起了柔和的乐声，抚慰着安睡的英雄。

11 labors   

v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors. 他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。 来自辞典例句
• Farm labors used to hire themselves out for the summer. 农业劳动者夏季常去当雇工。 来自辞典例句

12 vile   

adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的

参考例句：

• Who could have carried out such a vile attack?会是谁发起这么卑鄙的攻击呢？
• Her talk was full of vile curses.她的话里充满着恶毒的咒骂。

13 gnawed   

咬( gnaw的过去式和过去分词 )； （长时间） 折磨某人； （使）苦恼； （长时间）危害某事物

参考例句：

• His attitude towards her gnawed away at her confidence. 他对她的态度一直在削弱她的自尊心。
• The root of this dead tree has been gnawed away by ants. 这棵死树根被蚂蚁唼了。

14 victuals   

n.食物；食品

参考例句：

• A plateful of coarse broken victuals was set before him.一盘粗劣的剩余饭食放到了他的面前。
• There are no more victuals for the pig.猪没有吃的啦。

15 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

16 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

17 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

18 poking   

n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
• He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。

19 idol   

n.偶像，红人，宠儿

参考例句：

• As an only child he was the idol of his parents.作为独子，他是父母的宠儿。
• Blind worship of this idol must be ended.对这个偶像的盲目崇拜应该结束了。

20 cherub   

n.小天使，胖娃娃

参考例句：

• It was easy to see why the cartoonists regularly portrayed him as a malign cherub.难怪漫画家总是把他画成一个邪恶的小天使。
• The cherub in the painting is very lovely.这幅画中的小天使非常可爱。

21 squint   

v. 使变斜视眼, 斜视, 眯眼看, 偏移, 窥视; n. 斜视, 斜孔小窗; adj. 斜视的, 斜的

参考例句：

• A squint can sometimes be corrected by an eyepatch. 斜视有时候可以通过戴眼罩来纠正。
• The sun was shinning straight in her eyes which made her squint. 太阳直射着她的眼睛,使她眯起了眼睛。

22 jug   

n.(有柄，小口，可盛水等的)大壶，罐，盂

参考例句：

• He walked along with a jug poised on his head.他头上顶着一个水罐，保持着平衡往前走。
• She filled the jug with fresh water.她将水壶注满了清水。

23 epitome   

n.典型，梗概

参考例句：

• He is the epitome of goodness.他是善良的典范。
• This handbook is a neat epitome of everyday hygiene.这本手册概括了日常卫生的要点。

24 tints   

色彩( tint的名词复数 )； 带白的颜色； （淡色）染发剂； 痕迹

参考例句：

• leaves with red and gold autumn tints 金秋时节略呈红黄色的树叶
• The whole countryside glowed with autumn tints. 乡间处处呈现出灿烂的秋色。

25 grotesque   

adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物）

参考例句：

• His face has a grotesque appearance.他的面部表情十分怪。
• Her account of the incident was a grotesque distortion of the truth.她对这件事的陈述是荒诞地歪曲了事实。

26 snipping   

n.碎片v.剪( snip的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The crew had been snipping it for souvenirs. 舰上人员把它剪下来当作纪念品。 来自辞典例句
• The gardener is snipping off the dead leaves in the garden. 花匠在花园时剪枯叶。 来自互联网

27 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

28 brat   

n.孩子；顽童

参考例句：

• He's a spoilt brat.他是一个被宠坏了的调皮孩子。
• The brat sicked his dog on the passer-by.那个顽童纵狗去咬过路人。

29 hush   

int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静

参考例句：

• A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
• Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！

30 bruised   

[医]青肿的，瘀紫的

参考例句：

• his bruised and bloodied nose 他沾满血的青肿的鼻子
• She had slipped and badly bruised her face. 她滑了一跤，摔得鼻青脸肿。