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And thy smiles are free as the airs of spring,
Greeting and blessing each breathing thing.
When after cares of thy life shall come,
When the bud shall wither before its bloom;
When thy soul is sick of the emptiness
And changeful fashion of human bliss;
And the weary torpor of blighted feeling,
Over thy heart as ice is stealing—
Then, when thy spirit is turned above,
By the mild rebuke of the Christian's love;
When the hope of that joy in thy heart is stirr'd,
Which eye hath not seen, nor ear hath heard,—
Then will that phantom of darkness be
Gladness and Promise and Bliss to thee.
