 | Leaves of life |  |
76
SWEET SUMMER.
The spring has fled with its shine and shower,
And summer reigns, in the radiant hour
When noon burns sweetness from every flower
That turns its face to the sun.
She reigns in the waning blue of the skies,
When the lovely light of the evening lies
On pastures golden with memories
Of dear dreams, over and done.
And summer reigns, in the radiant hour
When noon burns sweetness from every flower
That turns its face to the sun.
She reigns in the waning blue of the skies,
When the lovely light of the evening lies
On pastures golden with memories
Of dear dreams, over and done.
O summer, royal crown of the year,
Beyond faint spring and wan autumn dear,
Hope and remembrance are all they bear,
But joy is the soul of thee—
A soul that stirs in the unripe corn,
In the dewy hush of the new sweet morn,
When in leafy woods soft echoes are born
Of the far-off song of the sea.
Beyond faint spring and wan autumn dear,
Hope and remembrance are all they bear,
But joy is the soul of thee—
A soul that stirs in the unripe corn,
In the dewy hush of the new sweet morn,
When in leafy woods soft echoes are born
Of the far-off song of the sea.
77
O summer, sweet summer, when lovers stray
Past the green mill-pool by the shady way,
Through the fields soft-wreathed in the new-mown hay,
And down through the leafy lane;
When as daylight lessens the old folks stand
And look out over the quiet land,
And sigh (not sadly, if hand clasps hand)
That youth comes never again!
Past the green mill-pool by the shady way,
Through the fields soft-wreathed in the new-mown hay,
And down through the leafy lane;
When as daylight lessens the old folks stand
And look out over the quiet land,
And sigh (not sadly, if hand clasps hand)
That youth comes never again!
For the summer dies—as our youth must die,
And vain are the prayer and the passionate cry,
The roses and beautiful days go by
With all their wonder and worth;
And snows are over the lily's head,
And a sheet of ice on the rose's bed,
And love may die, now the leaves are dead
And winter is lord of the earth.
And vain are the prayer and the passionate cry,
The roses and beautiful days go by
With all their wonder and worth;
And snows are over the lily's head,
And a sheet of ice on the rose's bed,
And love may die, now the leaves are dead
And winter is lord of the earth.
Yet listen, sad heart, to the glad refrain
Of the brown-winged birds in the brown-hedged lane;
Summer has gone, but she comes again!
Sweet summer never can die.
And youth, sweet youth, is immortal, too,
And will bloom again as the roses do,
And love is eternal, and lights life through,
Though youth and the rose go by.
Of the brown-winged birds in the brown-hedged lane;
Summer has gone, but she comes again!
Sweet summer never can die.
And youth, sweet youth, is immortal, too,
And will bloom again as the roses do,
And love is eternal, and lights life through,
Though youth and the rose go by.
| Leaves of life | |