Classic Poem

Young men a-plenty have passed the door,
Broad in the shoulder and strong of limb,
But never my two eyes saw before
The like o' him!

The drummers and fifers woke the town;
The lads were leanin' from roofs and trees,
And the girls came swarming up and down
The like o' bees.

I stood by the hedge to watch them pass,
Laughin' and lookin' the way they came,
The sunshine glintin' on steel and brass
The like o' flame.

And himself looked down as I looked up—
'Twas first he went in the marchin' line,
And the light of his eyes might fill a cup
The like o' wine.

A proper lot are soldierin' men—
Plenty I've seen of them, tall and trim;
But Faith, I'll not be seeing again
The like o' him!

He's fit for ladies in silken gowns—
And well I know, if he turns to see,
There's fifty girls in as many towns
The like o' me.

Ah, well! the hedges are comin' green;
I'm walkin' out with Terry and Tim,
Walkin'—and wishin' I'd never seen
The like o' him!