The daisy had given her little life to make the captive bird glad.

—Hans Christian Andersen.

THE SPLENDOR OF THE DAYS

Sweet and shrill the crickets hiding in the grasses brown and lean

Pipe their gladness—sweeter, shriller—one would think the world was green.

O the haze is on the hilltops, and the haze is on the lake!

See it fleeing through the valley with the bold wind in its wake!

Mark the warm October haze!

Mark the splendor of the days!