Poems (Louisa Blake)/Orphan's Song
ORPHAN'S SONG.
Poor, friendless orphans; we were left
Deserted, desolate, alone,
Of parents, friends and home bereft,
On a wide world of strangers thrown.
Deserted, desolate, alone,
Of parents, friends and home bereft,
On a wide world of strangers thrown.
Too young to work, by hunger led,
We wander'd round from place to place;
The cold ground was our only bed;
Death stared us sternly in the face;
We wander'd round from place to place;
The cold ground was our only bed;
Death stared us sternly in the face;
But generous ladies heard our plaint,
And snatch'd us, both from vice and sin,
The asylum gates they open'd wide
And bade each orphan child come in.
And snatch'd us, both from vice and sin,
The asylum gates they open'd wide
And bade each orphan child come in.
Dear, generous patrons! first to Heaven,
Then to yourselves, our thanks are due;
You must be blest, for morn and even,
The orphan's prayer shall rise for you.
Then to yourselves, our thanks are due;
You must be blest, for morn and even,
The orphan's prayer shall rise for you.
If high or low our lot shall be,
With thorns, or flowers our path be strew'd,
These orphan girls will ne'er forget
The sacred bond of gratitude.
With thorns, or flowers our path be strew'd,
These orphan girls will ne'er forget
The sacred bond of gratitude.