Ruth

Ruth

I will grant you one wish, to use as you please

God said to me in a dream.

And I thought of a life of comfort and ease,

I could have, without having to scheme.

Then I pondered on that, and thought maybe not,

Money is not everything.

To be happy comes first, Good health means a lot,

Or free as a bird on the wing.

So just how should I use this gift that he gave,

How could I benefit most?

Should I ask for talent, or riches to save

Me from want, when youth was a ghost?

I thought and I thought, till my mind fairly spun,

I couldn't make up my mind.

When suddenly light dawned, as bright as the sun.

I knew what I wanted to find.

The wish I would ask, where I had most to gain,

Was simply just an encore.

My life with my true love all over again,

Exactly as it was before.

I realize that it could be but a dream,

But nevertheless it's true.

If I could choose once again for joy supreme,

I'd choose it to be with you.

Ed.

1936/1937

Note: Jennie's Introduction says some question remains as to whether this is an original piece or whether it is copied. If it is original there is a suggestion it was written sometime in the thirties.

All I'm saying, is that after a bit of an internet trawl I couldn't turn up anything the same, or that looked like it could be a source. So, who knows?