Classic Poem

The First-born is a Fairy child,
A wondrous emanation!
A tameless creature, fond and wild —
A moving exultation!
Beside the hearth, upon the stair,
Its footstep laughs with lightness:
And cradled, all its features fair
Are touched with mystic brightness.

First pledge of their betrothed love —
O, happy they that claim it!
First gift direct from Heav'n above —
O, happy they that name it!
It tunes the household with its voice,
And, with quick laughter ringing,
Makes the inanimate rooms rejoice,
A hidden rapture bringing.

Its beauty all the beauteous things
By kindred light resembles;
But, evermore with fluttering wings,
On fairy confines trembles.
So much of those that gave it birth,
Of Father and of Mother:
So much of this world built on earth,
And so much of another!