Is it for fame? Forbid the dream
To enter an unselfish theme.
But oh! to bloom like some sweet flower
Unseen in its sequestered bower,
Its modest name unknown,
Wafting sweet fragrance on the air,
That e'en the lowliest child may share,
Yet satisfied its fame untold,
To perish in the silent mold,
Unmarked by sculptured stone.
To enter an unselfish theme.
But oh! to bloom like some sweet flower
Unseen in its sequestered bower,
Its modest name unknown,
Wafting sweet fragrance on the air,
That e'en the lowliest child may share,
Yet satisfied its fame untold,
To perish in the silent mold,
Unmarked by sculptured stone.
Or like some warbler bubbling o'er with song,
Whose clear 1otes ring, the forest aisles along;
Who hears unchanged remarks of slight or praise,
Content to sing through dark or summer days
Pure heartfelt notes, that wealth nor glory bring,
But leave unchanged the lessons they have taught
When the sweet singer long has been forgot
Forever in the minds that heard to glow
'Till hearts that know their fullness overflow,
And in a grander song their echo sing.
Whose clear 1otes ring, the forest aisles along;
Who hears unchanged remarks of slight or praise,
Content to sing through dark or summer days
Pure heartfelt notes, that wealth nor glory bring,
But leave unchanged the lessons they have taught
When the sweet singer long has been forgot
Forever in the minds that heard to glow
'Till hearts that know their fullness overflow,
And in a grander song their echo sing.
[ 455 ]
