Forest leaves :: :: University of Virginia Library

Oh softly lies the wild-wood shade
Above the modest flowers;
And oft as through the woods I stray'd,
I fancied that sweet spirits stay'd
Amongst the rich green bowers.

For there were low sweet whisperings
Of bliss too pure for earth,
Soft music, as of tuneful strings,
And flutterings as of viewless wings,
With bursts of silvery mirth.

And unseen beings seem'd to tread,
Amongst the bending flowers,
And young buds droop'd the modest head,
As if they heard love's wooings said
And half confessed his powers.

Oh! pleasant is the wild-wood shade
With bird songs blithe and free;
Bright streams, where playful grasses wade,
And fragrant winds that love the shade
Of the old rustling tree.

Yet round my dwelling year by year
The forest melts away;
Now indistinct its bowers appear,
And faintly falls upon my ear
Its mingled melody.

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My childhood was a fairy scene
All spangled o'er with flowers,
Where bands of spirits, all but seen,
Were sporting in the radiant sheen
That trembled through the bowers.

And whispering of celestial love
Liv'd on the scented wind;
And soft low cooings of the dove,
And waters murmuring through the grove
Their dreamy songs combin'd.

Then every dark-brow'd cloud that came
Wore heaven's resplendent bow;
And every dew-drop was a gem,
Dropp'd from some angel's diadem,
On lovely things below.

Yes, childhood was a wild-wood scene,
Where guileless creatures dwelt;
Where nature wore her own bright mien,
Where only innocence was seen,
And love, and rapture felt.

But farther from me, year by year,
Those blessed things remove;
Dim to my mind these bowers appear,
And faintly to my inward ear
Are borne those hymns of love.