Daddy's Little Audience

"Sit on my knee,
Gaze up at me,
And I will regale you
With tales of the sea:
Of pirates and plunder,
Adventures and wonder,
Of mountainous waves
In lightning and thunder.

"And while I declaim
Of glory and fame,
You, little pet,
Mustn't fidget or fret.
Sit as still as a bird.
Be seen, never heard,
Except once in awhile
When with radiant smile
And eyes like a flame
You may murmur my name:
`Daddy, my star,
How brave and how brilliant
You were, and you are!'"

I? I fell for it
For all those years.
I smiled and smiled,
Worse pain than tears.
And now with lamp I wander far,
Rejecting men all mouth no ears,
Searching the globe
For a man who not only talks
But listens,
And listening,
Tastes,
Smells,
Touches,
Sees,
And hears.