Poems (Bell)/Dukie Boy

DUKIE BOY. (Died Aug. 11, 1889.)

He was only a horse!
Just a horse, you know,
But always faithful
And ready to go
Through all weathers,
Cold or warm.
He carried his master
And through many a storm.

Only a horse!
It seems so queer
Perhaps to you
That I shed a tear;
But I do,
I cannot help it,
We miss him so!

Only a horse!
Good faithful friend,
No one over
Your grave will bend:
Quietly you rest
In the wood, alone,
Naught marks the spot.
Not even a stone.

But we'll not forget you.
Good, tried Duke,
What care I, if
They do rebuke,
And say why cry
For a horse?
Does nobody care?

Yes, there's one other
Who misses you, too,
The master you carried
So long, faithful one,
Who mourns you
Now, but your
Work is done.

There's an empty stall
In the barn today,
There's a sorrowing heart,
Is it always the way
That what we love
Most, is taken?

Good-bye, Dukie Boy!
You are "only a horse,"
And they say: be thankful
It is no worse;"
And we are, but
We miss you all the same,
With a sorrow, Duke.
We cannot name.
And so I'll be quiet
And mourn alone,
But it seems as if
A friend were gone!