July 2, 1851: “Home”, by Ella Clifford, published in The Daily Wisconsin.
Ella Clifford’s “Home” was followed some days later by the anonymous Subscriber’s version of “Home.”
Home is man’s ark, when trouble springs,
When gathering clouds menace his morrow;
And woman’s love, the bird that brings
His olive leaf, o’er floods of sorrow.
Home is man’s island, sleeping fair
Amid the waves of life’s dark ocean;
And women’s love, the balmy air
Breathed o’er it in her deep devotion.
Home is man’s bower; when the winter chill
Throws icy fetters o’er the land,
And women’s love, the roses still
Is ever gathering for his hand.
Home is man’s star, in troubles night,
When phantom fear is oft beside him,
And woman’s love, the beacon light,
To comfort, cheer, assist, and guide him.
Home is man’s field, on desert plain,
Where burning Simoons blast the air;
And woman’s love the golden grain,
Still looking upward, smiling fair.
Home is man’s sun, in sorrows day,
In storms of trouble, or of gloom;
And woman’s love, the beauteous ray
To light its shade, its clouds illume.
Home is the refuge of the heart,
Man’s ark, isle, bower, star, field, and sun;
And woman’s love, in each had part,
’Tis bird, air, flower, light, field, in one!
July 9, 1851: “To the Authoress of ‘Home’ ”, by anon, published in The Weekly Wisconsin Subscriber.
Lady, fair lady, in fancy I see,
Thy face in its loveliest bloom;
Through the veil of thy thoughts, bright poesy,
I view thee as thou art at home.
O! happy the garden, happy the bow’r,
Thrice happy the night in its gloom,
When adorn’d with such an impassionate flow’r,
O! who would not prize such a home.
Indeed, love is an Ark, where all may ride
Safe, o’er life’s tempestuous foam,
No where need we seek for a truer guide,
To a happy and blissful home.
’Tis an Island fair, with a brilliant star,
That leads on to its stately throne;
A bright beacon light that shines from afar,
Inviting the wanderer home.
Lady, kind lady, who’s bless’d with thy heart?
Where the fortunate one who may own
A little, e’en the least fractional part,
And dwell there forever at home.
You say of your love, ’tis a beauteous ray;
Have any its genial warmth known?
If not, I beseech you allow it to stray,
And enliven my humble home.
I hope, gifted Lady, a vacancy still
May be in your breast, for alone
Would I the vacuum selfishly fill,
And claim the sweet “Ella” for home.
Janesville, June 28, 1851.