The Things I Love
By Scottie McKenzie Frasier
A butterfly dancing in the sunlight,
A bird singing to his mate,
The whispering pines,
The restless sea,
The gigantic mountains,
A stately tree,
The rain upon the roof,
The sun at early dawn,
A boy with rod and hook,
The babble of a shady brook,
A woman with her smiling babe,
A man whose eyes are kind and wise,
Youth that is eager and unafraid—
When all is said, I do love best
A little home where love abides,
And where there’s kindness, peace, and rest.
About the Poem
There is something deeply comforting about a poem like this. In a world that often feels loud, hurried, and divided, The Things I Love reminds us to slow down and notice the beauty around us. It is a poem built not on grand declarations or dramatic moments, but on quiet joys: sunlight, rain on the roof, birdsong, mountains, kindness, peace, and home.
What strikes me most is that the poem’s final conclusion is not about wealth, fame, or achievement. After listing all the wonders of nature and humanity, the poet says that what he loves best is “a little home where love abides.” That line feels especially meaningful today. Many of us spend our lives searching for acceptance, safety, and belonging. For LGBTQ+ people in particular, “home” is not always something we are automatically given. Sometimes we have to create it ourselves. Sometimes home is a partner, a group of friends, a chosen family, a quiet apartment, a beloved pet curled beside us, or simply a place where we can finally be ourselves without fear.
The poem also quietly celebrates gentleness. A “man whose eyes are kind and wise.” “Youth that is eager and unafraid.” “Kindness, peace, and rest.” These are not values our culture often prioritizes, yet they are among the things that truly sustain us. Kindness matters. Peace matters. Love matters.
As I read this poem, I think about the little things that make life meaningful: the first cup of coffee in the morning, sunlight through the window, the sound of rain at night, a cat insisting it is breakfast time, a conversation with someone who understands you, and the comfort of knowing there is a place where you belong. Those are the things that endure long after the noise of the world fades away.
The Things I Love is a simple lyric poem that celebrates the beauty of everyday life and the comfort found in love, kindness, and home. Rather than focusing on dramatic emotion, the poem gently catalogs moments from nature and ordinary human experience before arriving at its central truth: that peace and love shared in a home are among life’s greatest blessings.
Its quiet sincerity and accessible imagery give the poem a timeless, reflective quality.
About the Poet
Scottie McKenzie Frasier, born on September 7, 1884, in Talladega, Alabama, was a poet, editor, and lecturer. As a suffrage activist, she cofounded the Dothan Equal Suffrage Association in 1912. McKenzie Frasier authored several poetry collections, including Things that Are Mine (Steen Hinrichsen, 1922) and Fagot of Fancy* (Progressive Publishers, 1920). She died on November 21, 1964.
* The title Fagot of Fancy by Scottie McKenzie Frasier is using the older spelling “fagot,” which in this context does not carry the modern slur meaning. Instead, it comes from the older English and French word meaning “a bundle of sticks” or “a bundle gathered together.”
The word fancy in early twentieth-century literary language often referred to imagination, poetic thought, whimsy, or creative inspiration—not merely liking something.
In other words, Fagot of Fancy is a poetic, somewhat old-fashioned title suggesting a gathered bundle of imaginative pieces, much like tying together small branches into one bundle. It would have sounded literary and evocative in 1920 when the collection was published.
Ironically, because the word later evolved into a derogatory slang term in the twentieth century, modern readers often do a double take when they encounter the title today. But in Frasier’s era, the title would have been understood in its older, literary sense.
