i 
 
 ,UC-NRLF 
 
 *B asi at,^ 
 
Amateur 
 
 BY 
 
 LE ROY J. LEISHMAN 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2007 with funding from 
 
 Microsoft Corporation 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/amateurverseOOIeisrich 
 
Amateur 'MttBt 
 
 BY 
 LE ROY J. LEISHMAN 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 Dee-Neuteboom Printing Co. 
 
 OGDEN. UTAH 
 
IN APPRECIATION OF 
 
 HELPFUL SUGGESTIONS AND CRITICISM 
 
 THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED TO 
 
 LOFTER BJARNASON AND 
 
 Nels L. Nelson 
 
 IviSOlO? 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 When Easter Comes 7 
 
 Parcitine J> 
 
 To the Wasatch Mountains 18 
 
 To Youth 19 
 
 Lines in Memoriam 20 
 
 The Pilgrim's Muse 21 
 
 The American Flag , 23 
 
 The Universe — The Possibility of Man 25 
 
 The Weeping Willow 27 
 
 Sunny Days 28 
 
 Spring 29 
 
 The Burst of Light 31 
 
 The Setting of Two Suns 32 
 
 The Close of Day 33 
 
 Sylvan Scenes 34 
 
 The Forget-Me-Not 35 
 
 The Stars: A Child's Poem ! 36 
 
 Mother * 37 
 
 A Snowfall in the Woods 38 
 
 The New Year 39 
 
 Winter 40 
 
iltttroJiiurttnn 
 
 HIS little volume of verse, publislied at the 
 solicitation of several friends, is a collection 
 of a few poems written during the past five 
 years. The earliest of these poems were 
 written during my thirteenth year, and the 
 latest of the set — the three at the front of the book — were 
 finished after I became eighteen. I have arranged the dif- 
 ferent poems in the inverse order to that in which they 
 were written, and I therefore wish to make an apology for 
 those near the back. They were written in my very extreme 
 youth, some of them when I was as young as thirteen. Al- 
 though these earjiest verses have been somewhat revised, I 
 trust that the critical reader will attribute a legitimate num- 
 ber of the faults that he finds to this cause. 
 Ogden, Utah, May, 1914. 
 
WHEN EASTER COMES. 
 
 Fair Easter is breathing the breath of life, 
 
 And the sleep of death is o'er. 
 The birds have come over distant seas 
 
 That wash on a distant shore. 
 I feel the beat of my heart in its bound 
 
 To the new born joy of spring, 
 And I lend my ear to the babbling sound 
 
 Of the swelling brooks that sing. 
 
 The trees are clothing their naked limbs 
 
 In a leafy garb of green; 
 And the mountain top is earlier crowned 
 
 By the sun in a golden sheen. 
 The buds unfold at the kiss of spring 
 
 Like hearts that are touched with love; 
 And the plants are bathed when the breezes bring 
 
 Sweet showers from the clouds above. 
 
 All things are born into life aijew 
 
 When this something fills the air, 
 And the soul of man awakes at the call 
 
 When the arched skies are fair. 
 
 7. 
 
, Our thoughts arise from the plain and low, 
 • JJL^^ gur dreams and hopes are free 
 As sylph and seraph that come and go 
 ; In ihe liie that is to be. 
 
 All these are the joys of the hoping heart 
 
 When Easter and Spring are here; 
 All these are the thoughts that bound and start 
 
 When sunnier days are near. 
 'Tis the dream of life, of light and love 
 
 That' Easter is ushering in, 
 As her magic touches emotions move 
 
 In the spirit that lives within. 
 
PARCITINE. 
 
 Prelude. 
 
 How like is man to man. Maternal earth 
 Begets a myriad host of human forms, 
 And freely, from her great, unfailing store, 
 She measures to each his daily sustenance. 
 Upon her bounty all types of men depend 
 For nothing less than all that men receive. 
 All have her wondrous gifts — informing eyes 
 And ears, such things as these behold and hear, 
 The light of day, the sky, the verdant garb 
 Of earth, the sound of bird and brook, the sweet 
 Inspiring music of the universe, — 
 All these doth Nature give, and none can claim 
 One tittle more than she endows. The School 
 Of life, where master pedagogues instruct. 
 Has taught all men the great, material law; 
 And, moulded by the lessons that we learn. 
 We form the traits that men have christened human. 
 
 The great, the good, the wise, — 
 And those of lesser worth, — all these abide 
 Their day in fellowship upon the earth. 
 The ancient place of man^s abode, where all 
 Transpired that tongue of us can truly tell • 
 
 9v 
 
The Story. 
 
 Quite vaguely bounded is the garden fair- 
 Though it I think comprises most the earth, — 
 Where things of greatest beauty meet the eyes 
 Of him who loves, perceives, appreciates. 
 The artful hand by which the stars were wrought 
 Has fashioned here its crowning masterpiece: 
 The storm-enduring hills, the sun-kissed vales. 
 The streams that croon their optimistic song. 
 The floTj'ers, the trees, the overlooking skies. 
 These S S ^« adorn the garden. 
 
 'Mid all this, 
 The work that Nature's unseen hands have wrought, 
 A thriving people makes its habitat. 
 Designers, painters, sculptors, architects, — 
 All these are here, and working out their dreams, 
 Have moulded Beauty's self in fairest form. 
 AVell pleased, it seems, with all the works of man, 
 A thoughtless population «iost denies 
 The subtler art by which the earth 
 Was clad in rich, majestic garb. In fact, 
 Where plainest works of Nature fail to please, 
 
 10. 
 
No time is lost in making changes mete 
 
 To suit the cultured eye. From plant and tree 
 
 And flowers all fair — from Nature's handiwork — 
 
 An artificial beauty, more adapt 
 
 To such as people this peculiar place, 
 
 Uprears its form at man's commanding call. 
 
 He rules the earth, and his ingenious skill 
 
 Has made this garden to be Allurement's self, 
 
 A rendezvous for all who seek those things 
 
 That appease the appetite of him who drinks 
 
 From Pleasure's cup. 
 
 The lure of this was brought 
 To Parcitine. He, young and full of the love 
 Of men, impelled by thirst for truth and knowledge, 
 Desired above all other things to know 
 The source of happiness, for this, he thought, 
 Must be the goal of all humanity. 
 Where all external things are clad in beauty. 
 Where plenty leaves no room for aught of worth 
 To be desired, there surely is the fount of happiness. 
 (Too often do |fie thus decide.) The quest 
 To which his thirsting soul had bended long 
 No more could lead him on. The sought-for goal 
 Was now attained. The glorious garden holds 
 The clearest font of human joy, a wealth 
 Of ease, of beauty. Else than this could not 
 
 11. 
 
Produce, thought youthful Parcitine, the joy 
 
 That men have right to claim. The people here 
 
 Spent life pursuing happiness, and one 
 
 Would think, to view their pleasure chase, that they 
 
 Had found their Eldorado. Music fair 
 
 Fell softly on the ears of Parcitine. 
 
 Sweet music — yes, 'twas more than that! The soul 
 Could not but bathe enchanted in the spell 
 Its harmony, its lovely melody 
 Outpoured upon the charmed ears of all. 
 And perfume sweet — ah, yes, 'twas more than sweet! 
 Its ravishing odor claimed the very air. 
 And beauty! Parcitine could not conceive 
 Re yair a paradise. 
 
 At last, one day 
 Wnen all pursued with maddening zeal the form 
 Of phantom pleasures, all the place was changed. 
 A crimson ray, enkindled by the fire 
 Of animated and enamored souls, 
 Arose above the happiest throng of all that host- 
 That host which ever sought abundant joy. 
 The heavens laved within its lucid light. 
 High rose the Elysian flame; and then, as if 
 Some fairy elf had wrought with magic art, 
 
 12. 
 
|i 
 
 It burst into a thousand brilliant hues. 
 Aurora's beauty could not half compare. 
 Then came a vision-cloud. The purple mist 
 About the sable garb of night withdrew. 
 Ah! — glorious wonder — vision of the fair! 
 
 A sweet Celestial City floated there 
 Within the cloud that hovered high overhead. 
 Luxuriant beauty reared its concrete form 
 In palaces and palisades; and though 
 The nebulae, surrounding like a wall, 
 Forbade a clear discernment of the true 
 Content of the vision-cloud, all things that make 
 For happiness serene had zenith found 
 In this translucent, hovering, dreamy film. 
 And better still than this to selfish eyes 
 That saw, no law forbade a single deed. 
 Ideal, and quite transcending highest hope 
 Was this fair city floating in a cloud. 
 Their mode of living fascinated all 
 The ardent worshipers; and Parcitine, 
 Like all the rest, was moulding day by day 
 His every thought and deed to this new code. 
 
 Straightway the garden took new beauty on, 
 And being beautiful before, became 
 Unearthly so, more like the cloud. 
 
 32. 
 
The mellow music grew more soft, more sweet; 
 The perfume of the flowers, more fragrant still; 
 The pleasure-loving spirit now became 
 Far more intense, more nearly universal. 
 
 The vision-cloud began to move; and all 
 Vfithin the garden fair, infused wdth that 
 For which the vision stood, went following near. 
 As mighty thoughts from tiny causes spring 
 When men would justify their every deed. 
 So now, when these pursued their guiding star, — 
 Well worshiped both in thought and deed — contrived 
 To find a just excuse. They sought not far. 
 But came to quite believe that they had found 
 iSTot some delusion, but a living truth. 
 The misty dream became their code of life. 
 N'ot even in hours of most unselfish thought 
 Did they believe that this which they pursued 
 Would lead them from their cherished course. 
 They rather thought it led them toward the goal 
 That all the race, impelled by just desire. 
 Must need attain, although tradition told 
 Of men who saw its glories, followed near, and then 
 Condemned its fascinating spell. The code 
 Evolv*ed by all this maddened caravan 
 Imbued them with a false conceit. To those 
 Who followed not, they even forbade the right 
 Of being called as human. 
 
 14. 
 
Parcitine , 
 O'erfull of the love of men, was drawn by all 
 That bore a human sign. Their hearts and thoughts 
 Were sacred gods to him. Because of this, 
 He too became adapted to the phantom, 
 And followed with the great deluded throng. 
 
 Not many weeks had passed. They had not found 
 The sweet content for which they long had sought. 
 A sad and sombre melody, a drear 
 And doleful monody, arises from 
 
 Their heart-strings tuned in minor key. Some thoughts 
 Arise in minds of men too deep for word 
 Or tear; and now, when hangs unhappiness 
 O^er the souls of all, their sad and solemn thoughts 
 Came forth in melancholy music. Like 
 The fragrance breathed by summer flowers, or mist 
 That rises from the spring-caressed lakes, 
 The notes that spoke their sorrow rose and fell 
 When impassioned zephyr breezes touched the strings 
 Of their disturbed souls. Their gloom made life 
 A weary dream of base desire, and stern 
 Eeality of pain. Corruption dogged 
 The life of unrestraint. 
 
 15. 
 
Now Parcitine 
 Desired above all other things to know 
 The source of happiness, for this he thought 
 Must be the goal of all humanity. 
 He had not found surcease from sorrow's pang; 
 He had not found the sought-for city fair. 
 Could life itself be God's mistake, or this — 
 This false deceiving cloud — was it alone 
 The evil genius working woe in hearts 
 Of men? 'Twas this that now he longed to know. 
 
 Absorbed in silent meditation, earth 
 And life to understand, he saw a light — 
 A glorious light all white with holiest ray — 
 That o'er a far horizon shone like that 
 Of high noon-tide. He gazed, inspired with awe. 
 Far more inviting and enticing than 
 The floating mist of base deceit, was this 
 New light that spoke a richer, holier sphere. 
 
 While gazing on its sweet resplendency 
 A child approached. 
 
 '^Kind mister, I have come 
 From yonder light you gaze upon. Come now 
 With me, for I shall lead the way, and you 
 May see the source of that transforming light.'* 
 
 16. 
 
The child was clothed in spotless white and bore 
 
 The look of one who knew the truth and lived 
 
 Where blessedness was given to souls of men. 
 
 Now Parcitine desired to live in peace, 
 
 To knoAV the truth, to give his spirit rest. 
 
 He followed where the child his footsteps guided. 
 
 A melody that sang of luxury 
 And constant ease came to his ears from that 
 Infatuating garden fair. The smell 
 Of perfume floated on the air, and called 
 To Parcitine. He faltered not; he kept 
 His path with her who led him onward still. 
 They scaled the height of some lone mountain peak, 
 And there the glorious light he saw in its 
 Transcendent beauty. Earth, as Nature made 
 It, now appealed to Parcitine. He loved 
 The luminous light, and by its wondrous power 
 He read the minds of men. He knew their hearts. 
 And all events and all conditions now 
 Were understood. His soul was full of joy; 
 His spirit knew the sacred peace he craved. 
 The phantom cloud no longer could allure 
 The better Parcitine, and all for which 
 Its misty vision stood was now quite clear. 
 The light of truth was sweet to Parcitine, 
 And soul and body bathed in ecstasy. 
 His joy surpassed his power to tell. All things 
 In God^s unbounded open did unfold. 
 And Parcitine could read a deeper meaning. 
 
 17. 
 
TO THE WASATCH MOUNTAINS— AN APOSTEOPHE. 
 
 Majestic hills! Thy rocky domes declare 
 
 The might of God. Thy many canyons fair, 
 
 Ee-echoing the sound of hurrying brooks^ 
 
 Reveal the sacred peace that in thy nooks 
 
 Is undisturbed by man's intrusion. Where 
 
 The winter's snow &A. heavy here and there, 
 
 The shadows of the clouds in summer pass. 
 
 The heated atmosphere does make the mass 
 
 Of thy great peaks to tremble in the sun. 
 
 How sweet it is, when worldly toil is done, 
 
 To roam among thy canyoned hills, and gaze 
 
 Upon the wondrous work of Nature! Days 
 
 And years, and tens of centuries have all 
 
 Left thee as now. Thy narrow ravines, thy tall 
 
 Proud pines, and thy winding crystal streams inspire 
 
 The soul with nobler thoughts, and deep desire. 
 
 IS. 
 
TO YOUTH. 
 
 We stand before a life that is to be, — 
 
 Before the years that hope has pictured fair; 
 The future looms up bright, and there we see 
 
 A thousand things that call to do and dare. 
 Overfull of life itself, and full of zeal, 
 
 Enthused by Nature's transcendental store 
 Of beauty, ought we not at least to feel 
 
 That we than older folk are favored more! 
 Yet we must learn on every passing day. 
 
 From Nature's open book of sacred truth, 
 Those things that help us beat the narrow way, 
 
 Those things that keep for us this joy of youth. 
 And then, with all that makes a life worth while. 
 May youth, not face the future with a smile? 
 
 Id. 
 
LINES IN MEMORIAM. 
 
 A trillion souls, lion-hearted, brave and true, 
 Companionship with mortals hold no more; 
 
 Yet highest reason does the mind imbue 
 
 With faith that eyes of them are watching o'er. 
 
 Today we turn our every solemn thought 
 iTJpon their birth where endless life is fair, 
 
 And find a fitting change in nature wrought, 
 For life is blooming, spring:like, everywhere. 
 
 We deck each grave with lovely scented flowers, — 
 
 Fair signs of immortality are they, 
 And breathe the hope that in eternal hours 
 
 The dead remember tributes that we pay. 
 
 20. 
 
THE PILGRIM'S MUSE. 
 
 My tears have wet the dim, uncertain way 
 In which I wander, dreary and forlorn. 
 
 It is a valley of gloom, and sulky shadows gray 
 The rugged tops of ghostly hills adorn. 
 
 Alone and sad! All is wrong to me: 
 
 In Nature I can find no thing of cheer, 
 
 And in the heart of man I look and see 
 A nothingness, save discord, pain and fear. 
 
 In all the earth there is but endless woe — 
 No balm to pacify my fevered brain! 
 
 I wonder why the Lord should make it so 
 That life and all creation seem in vain. 
 
 Despondent now, I start to meditate. 
 
 Life's mystery once for all I strive to know, 
 That I, with added light, shall hesitate 
 
 No more before the way that I must go. 
 
 At last I find that men must need obey 
 The moral law, the conscience of the race. 
 
 And, making this my guidance and my stay, 
 I feel that I approach a resting place. 
 
 21. 
 
Ah, surely so! I enter a valley fair 
 
 Where melancholy moods shall find surcease. 
 
 The flowers perfume sweet the pleasant air, 
 And all is rich accord and silent peace. 
 
 I see that men have found eternal joy 
 In living outward from the human heart. — 
 
 1 see that all may know the sweet alloy 
 
 Whose charm the tongue is powerless to impart. 
 
 How many things I knew not of before 
 Are clad in beauty now that I can see! 
 
 How many shadows flee forevermore 
 
 Since I have learned that God has made me free! 
 
 Dark vale of tears, thy skies were black as night, 
 But these are ever warm and blue and clear. 
 
 Oh, that my way way had seen, as well it might. 
 No sin at all, no day of doubt, no tear! 
 
 22. 
 
THE AMERICAN FLAG. 
 
 O Flag, undo thy honored folds 
 
 To float upon the breeze. 
 What mast in all dominion holds 
 
 More meaning stripes than these? 
 
 For justice stands the navy field 
 Where states have each a star; 
 
 In white is peace, the nation's shield 
 Against the hand of war; 
 
 And red, the stain upon the white, 
 
 Is blood of servants brave, 
 And stands for love, and every right. 
 
 That God His children gave. 
 
 The stripes are for the thirteen states 
 That freed for us the land. -^^ 
 
 They raised the flag, and from thf^m dates 
 A nation great and grand. 
 
 O Freedom's flag, we look above 
 
 And smile to see thee wave. 
 With loss of life and friends we love 
 
 We'd serve thee to the grave! 
 
 23. 
 
When in thy stars' soft gilded light 
 
 The martial breezes play, 
 Or thunder-cannons shake the night, 
 
 To thee we leave the day. 
 
 Our trust and faith we give to thee, 
 
 Sweet natal flag of yore, 
 That thou mightst wave on land and sea 
 
 Thy stripes forevermore. 
 
 In triumph dost thou fly today, 
 Freed from the storm and blast; 
 
 Thy stars illume the nation's way 
 And shine in peace at last. 
 
 24. 
 
GOD'S UNIVERSE: THE POSSIBILITY OF MAN. 
 
 I looked across the spacious plain — 
 Beyond the streams that move along, 
 
 And saw a mighty mountain chain 
 With lofty summits builded strong. 
 
 Again I looked upon the scene 
 
 And knew that it was small beside 
 
 The ample land that lies between 
 
 The shores that kiss the swelling tide. 
 
 In fancy then, I saw the sea, 
 
 With parts unknown, as yet, to man; 
 
 Then, far beyond, I knew to be 
 
 Of hills and plains an endless span. 
 
 I saw that life was everywhere 
 
 Since first began the flight of time, — 
 
 Beneath the sea and in the air, 
 Upon the earth in every clime. 
 
 At last the welkin ^s veil withdrew, 
 And countless stars bedecked the night. 
 
 The watchful moon, and planets, too. 
 Sent forth their cold, reflected light. 
 
 25. 
 
I knew that God had made the whole. 
 
 It could not be the work of fate. 
 Then reason told me that the soul 
 
 Could w^ell accomplish deeds as great. 
 
 Yes, we may do an equal thing 
 If we but use the force of will; 
 
 Then man, like God, will be a king. 
 Subduing all, progressing still! 
 
 26. 
 
THE WEEPING WILLOW. 
 
 *^I have heard/' said the old weeping willow, 
 
 *'Wheii earth was all garnished in green, 
 The song of the brook as it rippled 
 
 Its mossy embankments between. 
 I then was enriched in my glory, 
 
 The foliage my stems lightly bore; 
 But the Autumn has come and has taken 
 
 My hues, and I'm happy no more." 
 
 '^I have seen,'' said the sad weeping willow, 
 
 ''My leaves grow both withered and red. 
 They have fallen like snow on the breezes, 
 
 And now they lie scattered and dead. 
 May the snow in the winter embalm them 
 
 Till May with her skies of good cheer. 
 And though naked I'll listen to music 
 
 The brook sings the rest of the year." 
 
SUNNY DAYS. 
 
 The glare from the fire is forgotten and gone 
 In the far greater joy of Sol's luminous glow, 
 And hours that hung heavy as time lingered on 
 Now beguile us to mirth with the sunshine they show. 
 O Sunny Days, fleet not so quickly away, 
 In the rolic and frolic of sunbeams at play. 
 
 The birds and the bees from the morning till night 
 Sing love songs in ecstasy sweetly expressed; 
 The brook laughs as it passes and winds out of sight. 
 And the trees sigh themselves on the breezes to rest. 
 The flowers with their perfume and Sol up above 
 Shed fragrance and beams as a maiden sheds love. 
 
 In thy splendor, O Sun, wealth of glories abound, 
 'Tis thy glow that makes summer so rare, so sublime; 
 AVhere thy sunbeams are dancing the blithesome are 
 
 found. 
 And life to us all seems a dream all the time. 
 O Sunny Days, ever so happy and free, 
 Thy joys rend all gloom on the land and the sea. 
 
SPEING. 
 
 Sweet Easter marks the end of winter days 
 And bids the songsters welcome with their lays; 
 And Spring, with wealth of beauty unsurpassed, 
 Beguiles our thoughts and makes us glad at last. 
 In clouds above her lovely face appears, 
 Devoid of every sign of former years. 
 'Tis blissful joy to see her pleasant smile, 
 Pier sweet fresh face the brighter all the while; 
 To hear her voice in Nature ^s singing birds, 
 Expressing beauteous thoughts too deep for words. 
 The eyes of Spring begin to speak of flowers, 
 Foretell sweet bliss, and promise happy hours. 
 
 The meadow lark makes all the earth sublim^e; 
 The robin's song completes the charming rhyme; 
 A fault forms not a part of Spring-time days. 
 Like magic chants those clear melodious lays 
 Pierce. earthly bounds and reach those realms afar 
 Where fancy rests, and blithesome spirits are. 
 
 29. 
 
Majestic beauty comes abreast with Spring, 
 
 And all things fair her budding blossoms bring. 
 
 The brooklet leaves its home of snow and ice 
 
 When Spring arrives with all her Paradise. 
 
 The buttercups that bloom beside the brook 
 
 From some most glorious realm their sweetness took. 
 
 The modest violet, sweetest flower of all, 
 
 Outdoes in beauty all the blooms of Fall. 
 
 Each primrose helps to glorify the hours; 
 
 The silvery stream turns forth to kiss the flowers; 
 
 The birds in one grand chorus greet the Spring, 
 
 Taught by some fairy elf their songs to sing. 
 
 A cloak of verdure gayly clothes each day 
 
 When earth is young aagin in happy May. 
 
 SO. 
 
THE BURST OF LIGHT. 
 
 The dawn approaches and the shadows fade away, 
 From dismal depths there bursts a flood of radiant light. 
 The sun climbs swiftly upward, and the new-born day 
 Dispels the darkness and the ugly mist of night. 
 
 Thus from the gloom of ignorance a truth may spring, 
 Its light resplendent lighting up some murky sky! 
 And one of us full well might be a sun, to bring 
 The welcome ray of truth that lights and cannot die. 
 
 31. 
 
THE SETTING OF TWO SUNS 
 
 One night I saw the sun go down 
 
 Enshrouded in a robe of red, 
 And streams of gold, his shining crown, 
 
 On blushing earth in splendor shed. 
 The crimson clouds did dance in glee 
 
 Around his great and fiery flame, — 
 No richer scene could mortals see. — 
 
 He sank to rest and darkness came. 
 
 One day a greater sun went down. 
 
 His light was truth — not beams just spread- 
 And on His brow a thorny crown, 
 
 His blood, his precious life-blood, shed. 
 The earth did shake at God's command 
 
 For miles around this Lord divine. 
 He sank to rest, but on all land 
 
 His holy light doth brighter shine. 
 
 32. 
 
THE CLOSE OF DAY. 
 
 The fast departing sun adieu has said 
 
 To all the land and to the fading day; 
 
 But since he leaves no token of his love 
 
 Behind, the day grows sad, and gray, and wan. 
 
 The boys from school, their tasks at study done. 
 
 The kine, unmindful of approaching night, 
 
 The laborer, the swain, and all the rest, 
 
 Plod homeward, 'mid the gathering darkness, for 
 
 The night comes on. The shades fall fast 
 
 Upon the land, and now the frogs resume 
 
 The same drear song they sang the night before. 
 
 The chirping crickets take their lonesome lay 
 
 And while the hours away till midnight comes. 
 
 The moon long since has hushed the song 
 
 The lark upraises as the day goes by. 
 
 So that the nightingale may chant alone. 
 
 The nervous stars peep through the far-off depths 
 
 That separate all earthly things from heaven, 
 
 And even the glory that they shed seems not 
 
 To move the gloom of night. The silent spell , 
 
 Enchants the soul, and sleep reigns all around. 
 
 33. 
 
SYLVAN SCENES: THE FOREST OF ARDEN, 
 
 The ancient oak trees sigh themselves to sleep, 
 And all the sounds in peaceful blending keep: 
 The brooklet murmurs at the task of babbling on 
 From morn till night, and then from night till dawn; 
 The blooms of summer scattered through the green,. 
 The arched sky encompassing the scene, 
 The stars by night, the golden sun by day. 
 All listen to the bird^s enchanting lay. 
 But something lurking in the fragrant air 
 Brings greater beauty to the forest fair. 
 Beneath the boughs, and upwards to the skies^ 
 An unseen power prevades, and in it lies 
 The greatest charm since nature's work began — 
 The charm that bears a message all for man. 
 The graceful deer and fawn together played 
 Alone within the sylvan forest shade. 
 But now their human enemies appear 
 To steal a birth-right and a home of cheer. 
 The courtiers live a life of ease and mirth, 
 Enjoying all the natural things of earth. 
 In freedom from the bonds of vassalage 
 They fleet the time as in the golden age, 
 When intellect combined with chastity 
 Made man from toil and care and labor free. 
 The mistic charm of Arden works its way 
 Into the heart of men both young and gray, 
 And always does it make the moments fleet 
 Like hours, and life is made more long and sweet. 
 34. 
 
THE FORGET-ME-NOT. 
 
 There's a flower on the lea 
 
 And its beauty to me 
 Is fairer than all fancy's sway; 
 
 For its message is real, 
 
 And the things that we feel 
 Are trifles that soon p9,ss away. 
 
 It appears in my dreams. 
 
 And its tiny "bloom seems 
 Like a smile, or a hope, or a tear. 
 
 It is dainty, and blue 
 
 Of a beautiful hue. 
 And it whispers, '* Forget me not, dear." 
 
 If its bloom is unseen 
 
 As it hides in the green 
 Still its message will ring in some ear. 
 
 With its delicate hue 
 
 'Tis forever *Hrue blue'' 
 With its message, ''Forget me not, dear." 
 
 35. 
 
THE STARS: A CHILD'S POEM. 
 
 Before I go to bed at night 
 A host of stars come in the sky. 
 They seem so near and look so bright, 
 I might climb up there if I 'd try. 
 
 Sometimes the clouds get in the way, 
 And then the wind gets mad and blows. 
 The moon and stars then march away 
 Like soldiers off for war with bows. 
 
 The moon, their leader, takes command 
 O'er every big and little star; 
 But, if I rightly understand, 
 They never ever get to war. 
 
 I'd like to stay awake and see 
 How long the'd march there overhead. 
 Gee Whiz! I guess 'twill never be! 
 I always have to go to bed. 
 
 36. 
 
MOTHER 
 
 Oh! guardian of childhood and teacher of truth, 
 
 I love all thy virtues and ways, 
 May thy lessons instruct me and brighten my youth, 
 
 And guide every act of my days. 
 
 Maternal affection is better than gold; 
 
 Thine approval, the light of my time; 
 Thy name was revered by the sages of old, 
 
 And upheld by the good, the sublime. 
 
 The greatest of mortals that trod Freedom's soil 
 Owed their fame to maternity's care, 
 
 For 'twas mother who taught them the incessant toil 
 That is needed, Life's burdens to bear. 
 
 Thy love — it is greater than all other love, 
 
 Thy sympathy, equaled by none; 
 Thy care is co-equal with that from above; 
 
 Thy kindness is virtue alone. 
 
 Oh! first to forgive and forget my misdeeds, 
 
 My fancy was nurtured by thee, 
 Thy kindness and tenderness planted the seeds 
 
 That have grown to high hope within me. 
 
 I long for thy presence when absence brings woe 
 
 To comfort and lighten my heart. 
 The day when thy name is held sacred, I know 
 
 Is a time that shall never depart. 
 37. 
 
A SNOWFALL IN THE WOODS. 
 
 A snowfall in the forest broad 
 
 Is very fair to see. 
 The beauteous, universal white 
 
 Finds rest on every tree, 
 And hanging on their bending boughs 
 
 It brings a song to me. 
 
 IVe heard a wondrous whisper say 
 When snowflakes leave the sky, 
 
 That Mother Nature, queen of earth. 
 Sends them to beautify; 
 
 And to that wondrous whisper sweet. 
 This song is my reply: 
 
 When clouds bend low to kiss the pines, 
 
 A tale in song is told; 
 For like the strains of gentle tunes 
 
 The snowflakes charm the cold. 
 Their music fills my soul with mirth 
 
 And thrills me manifold. 
 
 38. 
 
THE NEW YEAPw. 
 
 As if on wingS; or fairy feet, 
 
 There comes at midnight from afar 
 
 A saintly maid whose life till now 
 Was nurtured on a distant star. 
 
 In mid of winter bleak and cold, 
 
 When trees and woods are still and bare, 
 She comes in robes of peace and joy 
 
 To fill the all-pervading air. 
 
 She tells the dying year adieu, 
 
 And humbly takes her vacant place, 
 
 Intent on passing her short life 
 
 With hoping heart and smiling face. 
 
 She comes upon a midnight cold 
 
 When bells of mirth peal out a cheer, — 
 
 A farewell to her sister maid, 
 A welcome to the newer year. 
 
 39 
 
WINTER. 
 
 Old Winter is here with his breezes that cheer, 
 
 His snow, and his meadows of white. 
 I welcome the season, the last in the year. 
 
 With its source of pure joy and delight. 
 The squirrel and the chipmunk are sleeping till spring 
 
 In contentment all through the long day; 
 The birds of the snow with the song that they sing 
 
 Cheer our souls into moods that are gay. 
 
 The Autumn is past, and Old Winter at last 
 
 Brings a token from some distant clime. 
 The joys of the snow make the moments fly fast, 
 
 For Winter is grand in his prime. 
 A gleam from the sun and a smile from the skies 
 
 Deprive the cold day of its chill; 
 A glimpse of the stars and a beam from their eyes 
 
 Keep the hoary frost glistening still. 
 
 All through the long night the cold moon sheds her light 
 
 On the evergreen trees and the snow. 
 And the bare, frozen branches, all ghostly and white, 
 
 Sift the beams of the luminous glow. 
 In Autumn 's sad hours every tree casts the leaf 
 
 To rightfully meet winter days. XJ^ 
 
 Now — the king of pure beauty rules earth -^^ a thief 
 
 Steals the snow and cheers earth with his ways. 
 
 40 
 
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YB / 
 
 ivi50107 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CAUFORNIA LIBRA) 
 
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