WILL YOU LOVE ME THEN?

There’s a new chap born in the world to-day, And an axe laid close to the root of doubt, When I hear you speak in that soulful way Of a love to last till the stars go out—— But, Mignonette! Will you love me yet When the duns come in? ... ’Tis an even bet. Ah! I try to think, as I feel your breath, Like a perfume thrown from a Glory rose, That our path will lead (as the poet saith) In a pleasant field, where the wild thyme blows—— But, wife of mine! Will your star still shine When he’s loaded down to the Plimsoll line? Oh, I like you thus, with your nut-brown hair In a wilderness, as I saw you first; And I love you much as a man may dare Who is torn asunder ’twixt love and thirst—— Pray tell me, dear! Will the wind-vane veer When I hang my pants on the chandelier? And will Passion’s flower still bloom as red,— Will you shrink right over against the wall,— When I tumble into the nuptial bed With my harness on, and my boots and all? Will you have resource To a plain divorce When I smell of hops like a brewer’s horse? Will your faith still shine when the world grows grey? When the Autumn comes, will your heart grow sere? Will you wear the smile that you wear to-day When you wear the hat that you wore last year? Girl, keep your vow! Things will shape somehow— And we’ll take our toll from the lap of Now!