 | The silver bridge and other poems |  |
7
THE WILLOW.
O willow, why forever weep
As one who mourns an endless wrong?
What hidden woe can lie so deep,
What utter grief can last so long,
O sighing willow?
As one who mourns an endless wrong?
What hidden woe can lie so deep,
What utter grief can last so long,
O sighing willow?
The spring makes haste, with step elate,
Your life and beauty to renew;
She even bids the roses wait,
And gives her first sweet care to you,
Beloved willow!
Your life and beauty to renew;
She even bids the roses wait,
And gives her first sweet care to you,
Beloved willow!
The welcome redbreast folds his wing,
To pour for you his freshest strain;
To you the earliest bluebirds sing
Till all your light stems thrill again,
Responsive willow!
To pour for you his freshest strain;
To you the earliest bluebirds sing
Till all your light stems thrill again,
Responsive willow!
The sparrow trills his wedding song
And trusts his tender brood to you;
Fair flowering vines, the summer long,
With clasp and kiss your beauty woo,
O lovely willow!
And trusts his tender brood to you;
8
With clasp and kiss your beauty woo,
O lovely willow!
The sunshine drapes your limbs with light,
The rain braids diamonds in your hair,
The breeze makes love to you at night,
Yet still you droop, and still despair,
O loyal willow!
The rain braids diamonds in your hair,
The breeze makes love to you at night,
Yet still you droop, and still despair,
O loyal willow!
Beneath your boughs, at fall of dew,
By lovers' lips is softly told
The tale that all the ages through
Has kept the world from growing old,
O listening willow!
By lovers' lips is softly told
The tale that all the ages through
Has kept the world from growing old,
O listening willow!
But still, though April's buds unfold,
Or summer sets the earth aleaf,
Or autumn pranks your robes with gold,
You sway and sigh in graceful grief,
O brooding willow!
Or summer sets the earth aleaf,
Or autumn pranks your robes with gold,
You sway and sigh in graceful grief,
O brooding willow!
Mourn on forever, unconsoled,
And keep your secret sacredly,
No heart in all the world can hold
A sweeter grace than constancy,
O faithful willow!
And keep your secret sacredly,
No heart in all the world can hold
A sweeter grace than constancy,
O faithful willow!
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