 | The Poetical Works of Oliver Wendell Holmes |  |
SENTIMENT
Alas! that in our earliest blushOur danger first we feel,
And tremble when the rising flush
Betrays some angel's seal!
Alas! for care and pallid wo
Sit watchers in their turn,
Where heaven's too faint and transient glow
So soon forgets to burn!
Maiden, through every change the same
Sweet semblance thou may'st wear;
Ay, scorch thy very soul with shame,
Thy brow may still be fair:
But if thy lovely cheek forget
The rose of purer years—
Say, does not memory sometimes wet
That changeless cheek with tears?
| The Poetical Works of Oliver Wendell Holmes | |