 | Minor Poems, including Napoleon |  |
264
BOYHOOD.
I
The Rose which greets the smile of June,Unfolding in its joy,
When birds and bees their carols tune,
May typify The Boy.
II
Light clouds, that pass in shadow o'er,Render its hues more bright;
Soft showers may fall, yet these restore
Fresh fragrance to delight.
III
And thus the shade on boyhood's cheekBy smiles is chas'd away;
The tear which transient grief would speak
But leaves the eye more gay.
265
IV
The clouds whose darkness threatens life,Winds of autumnal tone,
Of Winter's storms the fearful strife —
To it are things unknown.
V
Unknown to Boyhood, too, the stormsWhich after years may roll
O'er all the beauty that now forms
The summer of its soul.
VI
But mind, immortal, through the gloomMay glorious warfare wage;
And know, when faded Boyhood's bloom,
Fresh greenness in old age.
| Minor Poems, including Napoleon | |