I WILL NOT SAY THAT THE WORLD IS GAY.
I
I will not say that the world is gay,
As your youthful fancy paints it;
Nor will I snatch the veil away
From the hateful stain that taints it:
To throw a gloom o'er duty's track,
Might make young feet forsake it;
While sorrow sleeps, in truth I lack
The cruelty to wake it.
II
Two summer leaves on the stream we'll throw,
And watch them stem the current,
One floats where tranquil waters flow,
One struggles with the torrent:
Like this, life's varied tide thou'lt find!
But may thy bark float o'er it,
Impell'd by fortune's fav'ring wind,
And a port of peace before it.
