Dimples in the face or the body of the loved girl are a frequent theme in Boudoir Ballads, and the following poem extols their charm. Again I chose a painting by Graham Ovenden to illustrate the verse of Joseph Ashby-Sterry.

D A I S Y’ S   D I M P L E S.

I.
LITTLE dimples so sweet and soft,
Love the cheek of my love:
The mark of Cupid’s dainty hand,
Before he wore a glove.

II.
Laughing dimples of tender love
Smile on my darling’s cheek;
Sweet hallowed spots where kisses lurk,
And play at hide and seek.

III.
Fain would I hide my kisses there
At morning’s rosy light,
To come and seek them back again
In silver hush of night.

Source of the poem: Joseph Ashby-Sterry, Boudoir Ballads, London: Chatto and Windus, Piccadilly (1876).

Previously published on Agapeta, 2018/04/09.