My Life by Chester M. Wait
i.
In my heart I was discontented
Of the life that I had led
Oh for a place to call my home
For a place to lay my head.
ii.
I had worked on farms and in cities
Since I was thirteen years old
I did the best a boy could do
But he is too young they told.
iii.
So for five years I plodded on
Having life’s burdens to bear
With only a little girl to help
A young sweetheart’s tender prayer.
iv.
There were days of trials and temptations
That beset me at every place
While all I had to me straight was
The girl and my mother’s face.
v.
Mother had passed to the Great Beyond
‘Way to heaven up above
So all that was left was her memory
And the little girl’s sweet love.
vi.
And so at last I decided
As I continued to roam
To join the US Navy
And make the Oceans my home.
vii.
I’ve traveled in foreign countries
And many sights did I see
My soul was still discontented
For I wasn’t where I should be.
viii.
Two more years have slowly passed by
While sailing the salty foam
But now I know that I should be
With my little girl back home.
ix.
My last two years will soon roll by
After then–I will be free
To go back home to the girl I love
Who is waiting patiently.
x.
We’ll first go to the minister
And become man and wife
Then we’ll build our little home
Away from struggle and strife.
xi.
We’ll build that home out in the West
Where nature is wild and free
And with little tots around us
What happiness there will be.
A poem written by Chester Wait for Thelma Wait circa 1929
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