Classic Poem

So short thy stay, so swift thy flight,
Methinks some vision of a night
Gleamed for a moment on my sight.

But 't is no dream that I retrace,
For I have seen thy gentle face,
And held thy hand in warm embrace.

As bright birds through the forest dart,
Does thy sweet smile which knew no art
Still flash its sunshine to my heart.

And, as beneath the trees I lie,
In the dusk violet springing nigh
I see again thy tender eye, —

That eye where loving thought did brood,
Its light by lashes dark subdued,
Like the soft light within a wood.

And in the neighboring streamlet's fall
Thy voice afar doth seem to call
In accents mild and musical.

So though thou art no longer here,
Yet to my heart thou still art near;
And I must ever hold thee dear,

And unto Heaven raise this prayer,
That God from tears thine eyes would spare
And guard thy feet from every snare!