Laughing Eyes

Some rave about a maiden’s lips,

     And some about her hair;

And some will praise her pretty ways,

     Altho’ she is not fair.

O’er things like that I trouble not,

     Such trifles I despise;

But give to me, O fates that be,

     A pair of laughing eyes.

Diana’s form, no doubt was fine,

     As Sappho’s face was fair;

And Carmen’s smile would all beguile,

     And drive one to despair.

That these are welcome things to own,

     No one at all denies;

But I’d forsake them all to take

     A pair of laughing eyes.

Dec. 28, 1898

Boston Globe