His First Evening Clothes

I smile through sudden tears to watch him strut
Before me showing off his first dress suit
Almost a stranger, this young man, who but
A few years back, my baby, wore such cute
Pink gingham rompers; next, a sturdy lad,
Blue flannel knickers and bright-clocked half-hose;
Then was a lanky, colt-legged, big boy clad
In slacks and sweater.

Premonition grows,
As I retie his tie and smooth his coat,
The while he stands here, handsome, sapling-straight
And bubbling over with talk of his "date,"
That he is stepping out-it grips the throat
Not so much to a dinner dance, as to
Some far horizon with a luring view.

ETHEL ROMIG F1JLLE1L