-Charles Bruce
They have held funerals and weddings here.
And on the wall, in cardboard and dull gilt,
They keep the faces, bearded, stern, austere,
Of men who cleared the place, and plowed and built---
And women: bold, shy, laughing, sensitive,
Or stiff with pride, in frills of lace and lawn,
Who came serenely to this house to live
And brought their girlhood with them, and are gone.
This is the room they held against the claims
Of earth and sea and time--the touch of grace.
And you can see them in their oval frames
In gowns of buttoned satin, and white lace.
