My Friend
Reading edition
I HAVE a friend, if you should ask Why ’tis I love her well, Indeed, ’twould be a weighty task These reasons all to tell. First, she is good enough to see— A pretty face and kind, That somehow fairer is to me Than others I can find. She has two lips with laughter filled, That hold not scorn nor sneer, She is a little bit self-willed— Gangs her ain gait, I fear. She has two strong and supple hands, Two bright and tender eyes, She has a heart that understands, She has a judgment wise. Her voice—at least to me—is fine, I like to lie and rest, And hear her reading, line by line, The poems I love best. No jealousy, no trace of spite Is in her nature strong, She is so loyal to the right, So gentle with the wrong.
