When He Calls Her Dear

Redder did her red cheeks grow,

Brighter did her bright eyes glow,

     And her heart, I fear

Throbbed and leaped, and faster beat,

When he whispered, low and sweet,

     “May I call you dear?”

Now they’ve wed and he has found

On finance she isn’t sound;

     And, I sometimes hear

That her red face redder grows,

And she longs to pull his nose

     When he calls her “dear”.

March 18, 1896

Pub. in Detroit

Free Press, April 16,

          1896