 | Poems Lyrical and Dramatic |  |
208
THE POET AND THE TREE.
Upon a night of moonlight mild
That bare a stormful morn,
A pear-tree and a poet-child
Within one hour were born.
That bare a stormful morn,
A pear-tree and a poet-child
Within one hour were born.
They grew together day by day
In beauty and in power;
He lisped his earliest song the May
It bore its earliest flower.
In beauty and in power;
He lisped his earliest song the May
It bore its earliest flower.
Then he went forth in strength and pride
To conquer man's cold heart;
He left the tree his young heart's bride,
And fought his fight apart.
To conquer man's cold heart;
He left the tree his young heart's bride,
And fought his fight apart.
He fought with grief: he quelled despair:
A soul serene and meek;
But tarnished grew his yellow hair,
And faded was his cheek.
A soul serene and meek;
209
And faded was his cheek.
He came again, he found it still
In blossom as of old;
It struck him with a sudden chill:
He fell down dead and cold.
In blossom as of old;
It struck him with a sudden chill:
He fell down dead and cold.
| Poems Lyrical and Dramatic | |