PURITY
Behold it in the lilies white
That star the stagnant mere;
Behold it in the snowflakes light
That shroud the dying year,
And in the spotless pearl that sets
The blackness of the cave,
And in the whitened surf that frets
Above the midnight wave,
And in the cloud that piles its snow
Above the canyon's gloom,
And gleams against the night below
In towers of milk-white foam.
That star the stagnant mere;
Behold it in the snowflakes light
That shroud the dying year,
And in the spotless pearl that sets
The blackness of the cave,
And in the whitened surf that frets
Above the midnight wave,
And in the cloud that piles its snow
Above the canyon's gloom,
And gleams against the night below
In towers of milk-white foam.