Classic Poem

Come to me, gentle muse. Hast thou forsaken
The heart that trembled in thy smile so long?
Come, touch my spirit harp-strings, and awaken
The spell, the soul, the witchery of song.

Too long have I been bound in care's dominion;
Thou, only thou, canst break the strong control;
Come, with thy radiant brow and starry pinion,
And bring again the sunlight to my soul.

Come to me. Life is all too dark and dreary
When thou, my guiding spirit, art not near;
Come—I have sought thee till my heart is weary,
And still I watch and wait—appear, appear!

Come to me when the star-gems are adorning
The sable curtains of the midnight sky;
Come, when Aurora decks the halls of morning
With gorgeous folds of crimson tapestry.

Come to me when the fervid sun is glowing
In noontide splendor over hill and glade;
Come—I will meet thee where cool streams are flowing
In tranquil beauty through the forest shade.

Come to me in the purple gloom of even,
When flowers are sleeping on the green earth's breast;
When peace hath spread her wing o'er earth and Heaven,
And zephyr sighs not in his dreamless rest.

Come, let us wander in a world ideal,
Where Eden's bowers are given to our sight,
And forms too bright, too glorious to be real,
People a world of loveliness and light.