Lord Byron - To My Son lyrics

To My Son [1] 1. Those flaxen locks, those eyes of blue Bright as thy mother's in their hue; Those rosy lips, whose dimples play And smile to steal the heart away, Recall a scene of former joy, And touch thy father's heart, my Boy! 2. And thou canst lisp a father's name— Ah, William, were thine own the same,— No self-reproach—but, let me cease— My care for thee shall purchase peace; Thy mother's shade shall smile in joy, And pardon all the past, my Boy! 3. Her lowly grave the turf has prest, And thou hast known a stranger's breast; Derision sneers upon thy birth, And yields thee scarce a name on earth; Yet shall not these one hope destroy,— A Father's heart is thine, my Boy! 4. Why, let the world unfeeling frown, Must I fond Nature's claims disown? Ah, no—though moralists reprove, I hail thee, dearest child of Love, Fair cherub, pledge of youth and joy— A Father guards thy birth, my Boy! 5. Oh,'twill be sweet in thee to trace, Ere Age has wrinkled o'er my face, Ere half my gla** of life is run, At once a brother and a son; And all my wane of years employ In justice done to thee, my Boy! 6. Although so young thy heedless sire, Youth will not damp parental fire; And, wert thou still less dear to me, While Helen's form revives in thee, The breast, which beat to former joy, Will ne'er desert its pledge, my Boy! 1807. [First published in Moore's 'Life and Letters, etc.', 1830, i. 104.] [Footnote 1: For a reminiscence of what was, possibly, an actual event, see 'Don Juan', canto xvi. st. 61. He told Lady Byron that he had two natural children, whom he should provide for.]