O RIVER BANK
I love to loiter by the old oak tree,
Where waters ripple over clean white stones,
And cresses, mint with feathered fern grown high.
In such a place the peaceful thoughts will come;
There is no hurry there where nature plays.
Soft gentle breezes wave the grass and sedge;
White fluffy clouds pass overhead and roll.
Now dreaming, I hear the cricket's gay song.
O river bank you charm me always so.
THERE WILL COME A DAY
There will come a day, sometime,
When a bright light will shine through
The clouds of darkness, sometime.
And the grass will grow anew;
Glad bells will ring at the dawn;
And at noon great horns will blow;
At evening fear will be gone;
The home lights through dusk will glow.
It will be a joyous day!
And the earth will shout with laughter,
When world peace is made, some day.
We can hear the birds thereafter.
LATE AUTUMN
The fragrant autumn winds float painted leaves
Across the plains at sunset's evening hour,
A scarlet rose, a zinnia in the flower
Stand brilliant there beneath the cottage eaves.
The locust hums his song, the spider weaves
His silken web in every shady bower,
Where thunder clouds pile high in tumbled tower;
The farmer's loft is bursting with great sheaves;
And cornstalks bend with heavy golden loads,
For rains have blessed the land the summer long.
Now children trip on winding trails from school;
They swing in rhythmic time along the roads;
A hungry, hearty crowd, suntanned and strong.
This glorious fall day in evening cool.