Chips, fragments and vestiges by Gail Hamilton collected and arranged by H. Augusta Dodge |
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THE YOUTH AT THE FOUNTAIN |
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 | Chips, fragments and vestiges by Gail Hamilton |  |
83
THE YOUTH AT THE FOUNTAIN
In the sunny gleam of the fountain,
The youth his chaplet laves,
And he sees it hurried seaward
In the dance of the wanton waves.
And so are my young days passing,
Like the streamlet restless on,
And so is my fresh youth fading,
Like the wreath, and as quickly gone.
The youth his chaplet laves,
And he sees it hurried seaward
In the dance of the wanton waves.
And so are my young days passing,
Like the streamlet restless on,
And so is my fresh youth fading,
Like the wreath, and as quickly gone.
Ask not why I pass in sadness
The hours of festive mirth;
There is joy and hope around me
When spring bounds o'er the earth;
But the thousand voicèd Nature
Calls forth no answering tone;
It wakes in my lonely bosom
The notes of sorrow alone.
The hours of festive mirth;
There is joy and hope around me
When spring bounds o'er the earth;
But the thousand voicèd Nature
Calls forth no answering tone;
It wakes in my lonely bosom
The notes of sorrow alone.
What hath the young spring proffered
That I should join in the glee?
One only gift I sought for,
It is near yet far from me.
With outstretched arms, the phantom
I would clasp to my yearning breast.
Alas! they encircle it never;
For my weary heart no rest.
That I should join in the glee?
One only gift I sought for,
It is near yet far from me.
With outstretched arms, the phantom
I would clasp to my yearning breast.
Alas! they encircle it never;
For my weary heart no rest.
84
Come hither, O beautiful maiden;
Forsake thy lordly home;
I will scatter flowers in thy pathway
Wherever thy feet may roam;
With songs are the woods resounding;
Their chorus the waters swell;
There is room in the smallest cottage
For loving hearts to dwell.
Forsake thy lordly home;
I will scatter flowers in thy pathway
Wherever thy feet may roam;
With songs are the woods resounding;
Their chorus the waters swell;
There is room in the smallest cottage
For loving hearts to dwell.
1853.
| Chips, fragments and vestiges by Gail Hamilton | |