Classic Poem

Fair Earth, thou surely wert not meant to be
Time's show-room; but the glorious vestibule
Of scenes that stretch beyond his sway and rule,
Or that of aught we now can hear or see.
For he who most intently looks at thee,
Must be a novice e'en in Nature's school —
In one far higher a more hopeless fool,
To go no further with her master-key!
Beautiful as thou art, thou art no more
Than a faint shadow or a glimmering ray
Of beauty, glory, ne'er to pass away;
Nor thankless is thy minstrel, at three-score,
While he can revel in thy beauteous store,
To look beyond thy transitory day.