The Poetry Corner

A Farewell: To C. E. G.

By Charles Kingsley

My fairest child, I have no song to give you; No lark could pipe in skies so dull and gray; Yet, if you will, one quiet hint I'll leave you, For every day. I'll tell you how to sing a clearer carol Than lark who hails the dawn or breezy down To earn yourself a purer poet's laurel Than Shakespeare's crown. Be good, sweet maid, and let who can be clever; Do lovely things, not dream them, all day long; And so make Life, and Death, and that For Ever, One grand sweet song. February 1, 1856.