The world is gay!—Such lilt and song,
Such mellowness of tune,
Such drifting airs from wave and shore,
From rock and sand and dune.
I did not know that clouds of spray
Splashed as they fell, a roundelay.
A magic day! A magic hand
Has raised a magic mood.
Oh! years ago God made the world
And saw that it was good.
And from His ecstasy divine
I borrowed this sweet hour of mine.
Thoughts
So fair, so delicate the thoughts,
He marvelled they could be his own;
He did not dream that they were birds
From heaven flown.
Birds with a message in their throats,
Limpid and golden from the sky.
Most wonderful his song. 'Twas strange
He knew not why.
They fluttered their white wings awhile
Then soared again to paradise,
Leaving a trail of limpid notes
For sacrifice.