Classic Poem

I.

Vainly thou tend'st thy bower,
Vainly thou deck'st the vine,
And joy'st in the richest flower
That doth upon Ashley shine;
Thou nigh, though spring advances,
Who seeks for her sunny train?
We do but glow in thy glances,
And the garden blossoms in vain.

II.

Spring is in thee, bright creature,
Thou bringer of songster and rose;
In thine is the blossoming feature,
Whence the life that is loveliness flows.
A glimpse of the bow descending,
The purple light on the sea,
A wing with the sunset blending, —
Oh! these have spoken for thee.

III.

And thus, when the gray-footed morning
First beats up the fleecy plain;
Ere the stars have had their warning,
And close their sad eyes in pain;
My heart grows glad in the promise
Of a holier reign to be, —
And, seeking the soul hid from us,
I find its flower in thee!