Daughter of W T Giltner & Elizabeth Raines
KYDC#698
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Author/Poet
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Two movies made from her stories:
The Broadway Bubble (1920)
The Understudy (1917)
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Afterbloom
by Leigh Gordon Giltner

Gay was her garden as some gorgeous fabric
Weft on an Orient loom,
Star-set upon the sward quaint, old-time blossoms
Wrought broidery of bloom.

Verbenas, dahlias, asters, scarlet cannas
Like torches flaming tall;
(Methought the fair, old face, enframed in silver,
The sweetest flower of all!)

And one rare rose she watched each year with hoping
Till the dear eyes grew dim--
But ere a single blossom burst in beauty
God took her home to Him.
Yet when the Spring next woke the earth to laughter
And boon of blossom gave,
Starred was the rose with white, unearthly flowers--
We laid them on her grave.

* * * * *

And so, meseems, the buds we woo most fondly
Nor light nor perfume shed;
And Love's gold-hearted rose and Hope's star-flower
Oft bloom when we are dead.

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God Bless You, Dear
by Leigh Gordon Giltner

Dear patient face and placid brow,
Dear lips that smiled despite of pain,
Brave toil-worn hands, so helpful now,
Sweet spirit free from earthly stain.
Within the doorway Mother stands,
The while a merry barefoot lad,
Across the springtime meadow-lands
Goes whistling schoolward, blithe and glad;
And where the pathway breasts the hill,
I stay my steps and turn to hear
Her loving voice, as lingering still,
She calls, "Good-bye! God bless you, dear."

Dear patient face and furrowed brow,
Dear lips that smile thro' all life's pain,
Brave toil-worn hands, so weary now,
Sweet soul unmarred by earthly stain.
Within the doorway Mother stands,
The while a man oppressed with care,
Across the waning Autumn lands,
Goes toil-ward, fain to strive and bear;
And where the pathway breasts the hill,
I stay my steps and turn to hear
Her trembling voice, as ling'ring still,
She calls, "Good-bye! God bless you, dear."

Dear peaceful face and placid brow,
Dear lips that smile secure from pain,
Brave toil-worn hands, soft-folded now,
Sweet spirit freed from earthly stain.
Within God's portal Mother stands,
The while a man forspent with care
Seeketh the far-off meadow-lands,
By faith made strong to strive and bear.
And as I breast life's weary hill,
I ofttimes pause--meseems I hear
The well-loved accents breathing still
The old fond prayer, "God bless you, dear."
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