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The humblest weed in some dark crevice hid
Holds in its narrow limits the same forces
That control the mighty tree and bid it add
Year after year the leaf, the twig, the branch,
'Till 'neath its friendly shade, beasts of the field find
Shelter from Summer's scorching rays
And the tired traveler reclines to rest.

It stands a living tree in miniature
Lifting its tiny branches toward the heavens,
Spreading its leaflets to the morning sun
Rearing its buds and blossoms, fruit and seeds, to live and flourish when it has decayed.
We pass them by or tread them 'neath our feet,
Yet Nature with her wealth of birds and flowers,
Has in her heart a place for every weed;
For her quick eyes require no microscope
To note the varied wonders and delights
That the Creator's humblest works possess.


DREAM OF THE SUMMER LAND

I dream of a land where no thunder-cloud gathers,
Where across the calm waters no tempest may sweep
And where, while we chill in our bleak wintry weather,
The vales in perpetual Summer-time sleep.

I dream of a city across whose bright portals
The sunbeams are rolling in waves of delight,
Where brightness and gladness and joy are immortal,
Where there is no darkness, no winter, no night.

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