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A Home Song

by Henry van Dyke 1852–1933

From The Poems of Henry van Dyke (1925)

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I read within a poet's book
A word that starred the page:
"Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage!"

Yes, that is true, and something more:
You'll find, where'er you roam,
That marble floors and gilded walls
Can never make a home.

But every house where Love abides,
And Friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home-sweet-home:
For there the heart can rest.

✦ ✦ ✦

From "Songs of Hearth and Altar".

MLA

Dyke, Henry van. “A Home Song.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/vandyke/68/.

Chicago

Dyke, Henry van. “A Home Song.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/vandyke/68/.

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