But now I stand upon the prairie, now
I see the land which once I longed to see—
And fain must smile, as I remember how
This land seemed once a paradise to me.
But that was ere my eye had ever seen
These thousand miles of treeless prairie-green.
XI.
Nay, this is not the prairie that I saw
In youth's mirage; 'twas fairer far than this.
For youth's imagination knows no law,
And soars to heights of future-coming bliss,
In lands where gladness reigns eternally,
Too bright, too beautiful, alas! to be.
For each his load of pain and woe must bear,
And each must feel the weight of Sorrow's hand,
And each will sometimes bow in deep despair,
And 'neath his burden think he cannot stand.
But strength will come to each in time of need,
For they whom grief destroys are few indeed.
XIII.
Thus youth's bright visions vanish all away,
And nought remains save memory. And we
Can calmly watch them thus dissolve, and say:—
"'Tis better thus; 'tis best they should not be."
For Time has shown us, in his onward flight,
That all our visions were too grossly bright;
XIV.
That, had the dreams we cherished come to pass,
We should not be the men that now we are;
That what we saw through youth's bright distance-glass
Was but a trinket shining as a star;
That selfish pleasure, with its gaudy gleams,
Alone illumed the brightest of our dreams.