The Putto.
By Margaret Steele Anderson
No child, no mortal child am I,
No angel from the blue on high,
And, though I gayly dance and shout,
No Cupid, from a Bacchic rout.
But I am all young innocence.
So young I do not know offence.
So very young I think that I
Will catch that bird, that butterfly.
Madonna, Lady, Queen of Heaven,
Or Mother, whose red wounds are seven,
Or waiting Virgin, mild and fair.
See, I will hide behind thy chair!
And round thy pulpit, friar gray,
Lo, I will frolic all the day!
My ways, perchance, are not divine.
But cannot hurt thee, no, nor thine!
And thou, little darling Christ,
'Tis long ere thou be sacrificed;
Do beckon me, thou pretty One,
And we will sing and laugh and run!
And at the last, why then will I
The earthly darkness beautify;
Dead Son, upon thy mother's knee,
While Heaven weeps blood, I garland thee!