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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

HER LETTER, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: She has written her little letter
Last Line: When she had a half-hour free.
Alternate Author Name(s): Van Deth, Gerrit, Mrs.
Subject(s): Letters; Writing & Writers


SHE has written her little letter;
It was hard enough to do,
With mistress forever ringing the bell
Always for something new.
When the spelling was very uncertain,
And the writing's blotted and slow.
But she's written her little letter
Over the sea to go.

It will carry her last month's wages—
A couple of pounds at least.
It means for the dear home people
No end of a happy feast.
A little shawl for her mother,
And shoes for the baby's feet,
For the pale-faced ailing sister
Some delicate things to eat.

She follows her little letter
Over the plunging sea.
She sits again by the smoking peat,
And leans on her father's knee.
There are gossiping neighbors calling,
No end of kith and kin,
And they laugh and chat and linger
As their endless tales they spin.

And it isn't work forever,
With bells that make one start;
And it isn't only the wages—
It's something tugs at the heart
And sets her laughing and crying
As she follows across the sea
What she wrote at her kitchen-table
When she had a half-hour free.





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