ONLY A BOY

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXV, Issue 10, 7 March 1907, Page 37

ONLY A BOY

Only a boy, with his noise and fun, The veriest mystery under the sun ; As brimful of mischief, and wit, and glee, /As ever a human frame can be, •And as hard to manage as—what ? ah me ! „ 'Tis hard to tell, - ' Yet we love him -well. " - Only a boy, with his fearful tread, Who cannot be driven, tiut must be led; Who troubles the neighbors' dogs and cats, And. teairs more clothes and spoils more hats, Loses more tops and kites and bats, Than would stock a store For a year or more,. Only a boy, with Ms wild, strange, ways, With his idle hours and his busy days, With his queer remarks and his odd replies, Sometimes foolish and sometimes wise, , Often brilliant for one of his size. As a meteor hurled From the planet world. Only a boy, who will be a man', If nature goes on with its first great plan — If water, or fire, or some fatal snare, Conspire not to rob us of this our heir, Our blessing, our trouble, our rest, our care, Our torment, "'bur joy ! ' Only a boy.'