Page:Poems Hoffman.djvu/431

And while in gorgeous splendor,
The Summer glories wane;
In plaintive tones they murmur
Their soul-subduing strain.

Beautiful leaves of Autumn,
Glowing with hectic hues;
Dripping with pearly rain-drops,
Or laden with honey-dews.
Bright is your reign of beauty,
But beauty is always brief;
And human pride and glory,
Shall fade like an Autumn leaf.

Beautiful woods of Autumn,
I love your pensive shades;
Where each silent aisle of brightness,
A solemn air pervades.
'Till I pause midst the fading beauty,
So gorgeous and so brief;
And say with the ancient prophet:
"We all do fade as a leaf."

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