 | Leaves of life |  |
140
ON AN AUTUMN DAY.
No man liveth to himself.
In the mellow hush of the autumn days,
When summer is hardly dead,
When the corn is reaped and the hops are picked,
And the woods catching fire glow red,
It is sweet to dream thro' a lazy noon,
With the great sky over my head.
When summer is hardly dead,
When the corn is reaped and the hops are picked,
And the woods catching fire glow red,
It is sweet to dream thro' a lazy noon,
With the great sky over my head.
With your hand in mine it is sweet to lie
On this close-cropped meadow grass,
To watch the rooks go sailing by,
And count the sheep as they pass;
To dream of our youth and the vanished days
That will come not again, alas!
On this close-cropped meadow grass,
To watch the rooks go sailing by,
And count the sheep as they pass;
To dream of our youth and the vanished days
That will come not again, alas!
O, the dear dead days of the long ago,
When we and the world were young,
Before I guessed how the skies could frown,
And the heart of a man be wrung;
When we walked, not wondering, over the flowers
That Fate in our pathway flung.
When we and the world were young,
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And the heart of a man be wrung;
When we walked, not wondering, over the flowers
That Fate in our pathway flung.
When I dreamed that the world would be always bright,
The skies would be always blue,
That I should be always strong in the right,
And my sweetheart be always true;
And that man's best work was to build a nest—
The softest of nests—for two.
The skies would be always blue,
That I should be always strong in the right,
And my sweetheart be always true;
And that man's best work was to build a nest—
The softest of nests—for two.
When I thought that the hearts of all men were pure,
And the hearts of all women brave;
When I thought that all I dreamed I could do,
And all I desired could have.
O sea of time, you have wrecked those dreams,
Yet something you let me save!
And the hearts of all women brave;
When I thought that all I dreamed I could do,
And all I desired could have.
O sea of time, you have wrecked those dreams,
Yet something you let me save!
For though life is rough and one's dear dreams die,
One learns by torture and tears
What things are worthy a true man's hopes,
And what is worth true men's fears.
And one holds some faiths to the last, thank God,
Through the wildest surge of the years.
One learns by torture and tears
What things are worthy a true man's hopes,
And what is worth true men's fears.
And one holds some faiths to the last, thank God,
Through the wildest surge of the years.
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O the beautiful earth, O the pastures smooth,
The meadows quiet and fair,
The heaven of stillness and solitude
In the sun-warmed autumn air;
O, the ache of our hearts as we think of the town
And the hearts that are aching there!
The meadows quiet and fair,
The heaven of stillness and solitude
In the sun-warmed autumn air;
O, the ache of our hearts as we think of the town
And the hearts that are aching there!
For this we have learned, that no true hearts dare
To live for themselves alone,
Alone be glad of the woods and fields,
Since no man's life is his own;
Not his own but all men's, that right may reign
And wrong may be overthrown.
To live for themselves alone,
Alone be glad of the woods and fields,
Since no man's life is his own;
Not his own but all men's, that right may reign
And wrong may be overthrown.
Sweet dream of my youth that never has changed,
Dear sweetheart, helper and wife,
Shall the woman I worship, the man you love,
Bear the shame of a peaceful life?
No! We fight till the Kingdom of God be come,
Or we break our heart in the strife!
Dear sweetheart, helper and wife,
Shall the woman I worship, the man you love,
Bear the shame of a peaceful life?
No! We fight till the Kingdom of God be come,
Or we break our heart in the strife!
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