Pebbles and Shells (Hawkes collection)/Sunshine and Shadow
SUNSHINE AND SHADOW
Fair are the skies that bend to meet the hills,
Soft are the winds that stir the meadow grass,
Cool is their touch, and fragrant as they pass
With sweet perfumes that come as nature wills;
By floral walks the busy bee distills
His winter store, and sweet wild songsters mass,
While in my glad young heart there is, alas,
Not room to hold the joy that bounds and thrills
When with me 'neath these boughs my lady stands.
No other time wears earth so fair a guise
As when I gaze into her dreamy eyes
And read the tale I treasure more than lands,
Or hear her softly breathe her love once more,—
But what if death should snatch her from my door?
Soft are the winds that stir the meadow grass,
Cool is their touch, and fragrant as they pass
With sweet perfumes that come as nature wills;
By floral walks the busy bee distills
His winter store, and sweet wild songsters mass,
While in my glad young heart there is, alas,
Not room to hold the joy that bounds and thrills
When with me 'neath these boughs my lady stands.
No other time wears earth so fair a guise
As when I gaze into her dreamy eyes
And read the tale I treasure more than lands,
Or hear her softly breathe her love once more,—
But what if death should snatch her from my door?