Poem: “The Right Family” by Edgar A. Guest

The Path to Home

Download PDF

American Literature – American Poetry – Edgar A. Guest – Poems by Edgar A. Guest
< < < Tommy Atkins’ Way
A Lesson from Golf > > >

The Right Family

With time our notions allus change,
An’ years make old idees seem strange—
Take Mary there—time was when she
Thought one child made a family,
An’ when our eldest, Jim, was born
She used to say, both night an’ morn’:”
One little one to love an’ keep,
To guard awake, an’ watch asleep;
To bring up right an’ lead him through
Life’s path is all we ought to do.”

Two years from then our Jennie came,
But Mary didn’t talk the same;”
Now that’s just right,” she said to me,”
We’ve got the proper family—
A boy an’ girl, God sure is good;
It seems as though He understood
That I’ve been hopin’ every way
To have a little girl some day;
Sometimes I’ve prayed the whole night through—
One ain’t enough; we needed two.”

Then as the months went rollin’ on,
One day the stork brought little John,
An’ Mary smiled an’ said to me;”
The proper family is three;
Two boys, a girl to romp an’ pla
Jus’ work enough to fill the day.
I never had enough to do,
The months that we had only two;
Three’s jus’ right, pa, we don’t want more.”
Still time went on an’ we had four.

An’ that was years ago, I vow,
An’ we have six fine children now;
An’ Mary’s plumb forgot the day
She used to sit an’ sweetly say
That one child was enough for her
To love an’ give the proper care;
One, two or three or four or five—
Why, goodness gracious, sakes alive,
If God should send her ten to-night,
She’d vow her fam’ly was jus’ right!

< < < Tommy Atkins’ Way
A Lesson from Golf > > >

American Literature – American Poetry – Edgar A. Guest – Poems by Edgar A. Guest

If you liked this article, subscribe , put likes, write comments!

Share on social networks

Visit us on Facebook or Twitter

Check out Our Latest Posts

The Path to Home

The Right Family

Leave a comment Cancel reply