To a Child

Go, pretty child, and bear this flower

Unto thy little Saviour;

And tell Him, by that bud now blown,

He is the Rose of Sharon known.

When thou hast said so, stick it there

Upon His bib or stomacher;

And tell Him, for good handsel too,

That thou hast brought a whistle new,

Made of a clean strait oaten reed,

To charm His cries at time of need.

Tell Him, for coral, thou hast none,

But if thou hadst, He should have one;

But poor thou art, and known to be

Even as moneyless as He.

Lastly, if thou canst win a kiss

From those mellifluous lips of His;

Then never take a second on,

To spoil the first impression.