 | The Poetry of Real Life |  |
31
THE TWO-FOLD LIFE.
Oh, happy time, ere yet the youthful heartHas quite subsided in the sober tone
Of manhood, yet can call those joys its own
In which that sober manhood claims most share!
Those thoughtful pleasures, mingled, with fine art,
With the naîve impulses which loosed the zone
Of all life's virgin charms, which make them (known
And tasted) sweet as at the first, fresh start!
Oh, happy time! when, children at heart still,
Yet with the sobered soul and well-schooled will,
We of the child retain the innocence
And simpleness, with the maturer sense
Of many years, and from life's flowers distill
The essence, to make sweet hours long, long hence!
| The Poetry of Real Life | |