 | Household Verses |  |
168
SPRING FLOWERS.
The flowers of Spring, the flowers
of Spring,
They bloom as heretofore;
But can they to my fancy bring
The spell that charmed of yore?
They bloom as heretofore;
But can they to my fancy bring
The spell that charmed of yore?
Ah no! that spell, once deemed their own,
But gladdened childhood's span;
And thoughts and cares of sterner tone,
Have “made and marred the man.”
But gladdened childhood's span;
And thoughts and cares of sterner tone,
Have “made and marred the man.”
Yet with no vain repining thought
Would I the change upbraid;
With beauty, and with fragrance fraught,
They blossom—but to fade!
Would I the change upbraid;
With beauty, and with fragrance fraught,
They blossom—but to fade!
169
But flowers there are, though not of earth,
More lovely far than they;
Which boast a more enduring worth,
And need not dread decay.
More lovely far than they;
Which boast a more enduring worth,
And need not dread decay.
Truth, peace, and joy, faith, hope, and love,
Bear, worthy Eden's bowers,
Blossoms of beauty from above,
The mind's perennial flowers.
Bear, worthy Eden's bowers,
Blossoms of beauty from above,
The mind's perennial flowers.
These, amaranth-like, each change defy
That time and chance can bring;
Secure to bloom unfadingly
In heaven's eternal Spring.
That time and chance can bring;
Secure to bloom unfadingly
In heaven's eternal Spring.
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