In London Town
In London Town, a girl was born
Who lost the crown, but won the scorn
Of Lady Margaret's deep disdain
For something proud, she cannot reign
Her daughter's name was Mary Grace
An angel with a beaming face
Who blessed the flowers that she grew
With tiny prayers and tinsel too
But when her mother kicked her out
To spite the lad who came about
The hapless Mary lost her bed
And lost the hope she had to wed
For as the child within her grew
Her mother felt, as mothers do
That Mary's heart declined the source
That put the cart behind the horse
Though Margaret was a little sad
To sacrifice the one she had
She didn't know and couldn't see
The baby was her family
The charge of rape she did attest
Was worthy of a boy's arrest
The constable who Margaret bribed
Believed the charges she described
When Oliver was brought in chains
To please the one who held the reins
He learned that fate is never free
When someone buys the victory
When Seraphine was sent to Earth
To bring the love behind her birth
She fell between the great dispute
Of Mary Grace and Margaret's boot
They fought like enemies or foes
Where someone stays and takes the blows
To bear the shame but not the right
To share the blame another night
For Mary Grace, who lost the perch
A desperate race became the search
To find the place where strangers meet
Who face the dangers of the street
Their ragged friends were good to share
A little bread or moldy pear
But noblemen of great renown
Would pass them by with just a frown
When Seraphine was nearly three
Her mother walked more sparingly
And stopped to rest a little more
Although she never said what for
Her laugh was not so deep and free
And she would sleep increasingly
Without an appetite for food
Or something light to lift her mood
Eventually, no mother's cares
Could satisfy her golden stairs
The journey made to heaven's gate
Was not a feckless twist of fate
The summer sun was toiling hot
Like butter boiling in a pot
As Mary Grace retraced the path
That once disgraced a mother' wrath
Though Mary Grace was wont to cry
Before a sad but scathing sky
She sang a song of sweet repose
To bring her path a peaceful close
A scarlet sun was sinking still
Beneath a twilight's fading frill
When Mom and missy traced the walk
That once disgraced a shady block
They sat beside a garden gate
Where beauty matters more than fate
And flowers bloom but never sigh
Except for those who hurry by
The mother held her daughter tight
Helping them to stay upright
And with a deep, determined strength
She found the words to speak at length
Seraphine, my darling one
Steady as the rising sun
Stronger than a river’s flow
Stopping where the flowers grow
Blooming like a tulip Spring
Brilliant as a diamond ring
Busy as a Bumble Bee
Buoyant like a boat for me
Learning from the words I say
Laughing with me every day
Lifting me both day and night
Loving me with all your might
Stormy as a cloudy sky
Sleepy as a lullaby
Softer than a baby's feet
Sweeter than a sugar beet
Cautious like a reason why
Clever as an alibi
Cheerful as a holiday
Crazy kid in every way
If Heaven’s light is good and true
May every star reflect in you
That in your eyes the world may see
The kind of person we should be
Somebody noble, brave, and just
The kind of leader people trust
To raise the poor and help them see
A better life is yet to be
A savior to the broken man
Who did the best a person can
But finished last and met defeat
To join the beggar in the street
Seraphine, thy heart is good
For I have loved thee as I should
And should I choose to love thee more
I could not know or think what for
For truly I have loved thee best
And duly fought to keep thy rest
The desperate dreamers of the dusk
Who lost their wings but grew a tusk
My wish for you, my little star
Is that you stay the way you are
The better sort that people seek
To love and lift the humble meek
Remember too, the needy poor
By keeping less, and giving more
To build a world with God’s own light
Where every soul is loved on sight
Your gentle heart is good and true
And so my joy is full in you
For you have made my time complete
By all the ways you made it sweet
Your love is bright for me each day
And so my fight would be to stay
But someone near is calling me
To take me home, where I must be
And from that mansion on a hill
My love for you will be there still
To hold you here within my heart
As we grow near and not apart
In this old house, where love was lost
Your Grandma paid a heavy cost
For she is lonely, letters say
By how she pushed us both away
Your future here is bright indeed
With Grandma’s love to be your lead
And plans you make will all come true
Because you love them like you do
And so my spirit, borne of wings
Will fly me to those fertile springs
Where endlessly the sky is blue
And all my dreams are dreams of you.
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