O! thou art a kind and gentle thing,
Bearing the gifts that good angels bring,
Joying in all that is bright and free,
And soothing the sting of misery;
If thou would'st dwell in my beating heart,
And breathe thy fragrance through every part,
I would ever love and obey thee,
Never slight thee and never betray thee
Into the hands of cruel scoffers,
Who sell their souls to fill their coffers,
Crush every flower beneath their feet,
And make the sole bliss of life—to cheat;
Cheat the greenwoods of happy ramblers,
To rear a race of slaves and gamblers;
Cheat the summer, cheat the spring,
Cheat the sweet flowers of their ministring;
Cheat the soft meadows and sunny skies
Of their glad tribute from glist'ning eyes;
Cheat the birds in their leafy bowers,
Cheat every day of its few short hours,
Cheat even life of its little pleasure,
Dealing its needfuls out in short measure;
Cheating all beauty while they draw breath,
But true to one commerce, that is—Death!
Come to me then, and I'll cherish thee,
Thou shalt my loving companion be;
From the cold world we will live apart,
And build up a new one within my heart.
WHAT IS A SIGH?
It is the sound
Raised by the sweeping of an angel's wing,
As through the air
It bears a prayer
Of the soul's uttering.
It is the sweet
Melodious echo of some thrilling thought
Retold by sadness
Unto gladness,
Which memory hath brought.
It is the hymn
Breath'd ever by the votaries of love,
Whose dulcidence,
Soft and intense,
Soars dreamily above.
It is the sign
Of Earth's fraternity, the only tie
That links us all,
Both great and small,
In common sympathy.
It is the heart
Issueing from its prison house of clay;
Perchance gladly,
Perchance sadly,
Wending on its way.