“The Lady of High Degree”

My neighbor dwells in lowly cot,

No curtains at her windows sway,

But one slim morning-glory vine

Swings purple bells the livelong day;

And from the primrose dawn till dusk,

I hear her tender notes outring,

Oh! bitterly I envy her,—

I have too many tears to sing.

I dwell within a marble hall,

And costly gems flash on my breast,

But thro’ all the sumptuous ease I feel

That simple cottage love is best;

I envy her those tireless feet,

Those happy eyes so free from guile,

I envy her those mirthful lips—

I have too many tears to smile.

All thro’ the golden afternoons

She rocks her cradle to and fro

Outside, where lazy breezes creep,

And lowly flowers sweetly blow;

And ever as she sings and sews,

The sunbeams in her bosom lurk,

And thoughts of him make labor light—

I have too many tears to work.

And in the lonely, sleepless nights,

I almost see the starlit gloom,

And feel the peace and calm content

Of her low-ceiled and humble room;

Her head lies on an honest breast,

Whose love for her is true and deep.

Ah! happy, happy, happy she!—

I have too many tears to sleep.

Draft of “The Lady of High Degree,” courtesy of the Ella Higginson Papers, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Heritage Resources, Western Washington University, Bellingham Washington.

“The Lady of High Degree” appears in Ella Higginson’s When the Birds Go North Again (1898).