The Poetical Works of George Barlow In Ten [Eleven] Volumes |
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 | The Poetical Works of George Barlow |  |
119
IV. HAPPIER DAYS
In youthful days the woods and hills
Seemed full of fairies pure and bright:
Their voices mingled with the rills;
Their beauty dazzled mortal sight.
In youthful days, in youthful days,
On moonlit cliffs, by sun-kissed bays,
Our hearts could hear the fairy lays
—In youthful days, in youthful days!
Seemed full of fairies pure and bright:
Their voices mingled with the rills;
Their beauty dazzled mortal sight.
In youthful days, in youthful days,
On moonlit cliffs, by sun-kissed bays,
Our hearts could hear the fairy lays
—In youthful days, in youthful days!
But then a silence weird and strange
Fell on the hills and on the sea:
Death, sorrow, falsehood, sickness, change,
Had hushed the fairy minstrelsy.
The fairy queen—so it was said—
Lay dying on a cowslip bed,
Death-white beneath the moon's pale rays
—In later days, in later days!
Fell on the hills and on the sea:
Death, sorrow, falsehood, sickness, change,
Had hushed the fairy minstrelsy.
The fairy queen—so it was said—
Lay dying on a cowslip bed,
Death-white beneath the moon's pale rays
—In later days, in later days!
120
But happier days brought back the light
To earth and heaven and sea and grove.
Love's starry splendour mocks the night!
Time tilts with pointless spears at love!
True eyes, pure hearts, and loving hands,
Bring blessing deep as fairy land's,
And fill man's thankful heart with praise
—In happier days, in happier days!
To earth and heaven and sea and grove.
Love's starry splendour mocks the night!
Time tilts with pointless spears at love!
True eyes, pure hearts, and loving hands,
Bring blessing deep as fairy land's,
And fill man's thankful heart with praise
—In happier days, in happier days!
| The Poetical Works of George Barlow | |