CONSUMMATION.
WHY did I weep o'er flowers of the May?
I, who hold fast the shocks of garnered grain,
The ripe corn's yield, the purple grape's rich store,
The harvest wealth of orchard, wood, and plain?
I, who hold fast the shocks of garnered grain,
The ripe corn's yield, the purple grape's rich store,
The harvest wealth of orchard, wood, and plain?
Before such splendors those sweet blossoms seem
So pale and colorless, I wonder how
I ever wept because they faded fast;
I did not dream, I should be rich as now.
So pale and colorless, I wonder how
I ever wept because they faded fast;
I did not dream, I should be rich as now.
O kindly Fate! that takes, although we weep,
Sweet flowers of spring, to give us larger store!
That piles life's treasures high until our hearts
Are satisfied, and we can ask no more!
Sweet flowers of spring, to give us larger store!
That piles life's treasures high until our hearts
Are satisfied, and we can ask no more!
But, garnered grain, perfected end of bloom,
Treasures of heart that shall not fade away!
Ye had not been, had I not known and loved,
And lost in tears, those flowers of the May.
Treasures of heart that shall not fade away!
Ye had not been, had I not known and loved,
And lost in tears, those flowers of the May.