Classic Poem

Summer birds! summer birds!
Whither have ye flown?
I was your dear companion once,
And now ye leave me lone!
Beneath the wide boughs of the tree,
Before my father's door,
I used to sit all day to hear
The notes I hear no more!

Summer brooks! summer brooks!
Whither do ye glide?
How pleasant was my grassy couch
Your merry waves beside!
My life was like your current, then,
And smooth and swift it ran;
There is no type in summer brooks
For slow and thoughtful man.

Summer dells! summer dells!
Oh, are ye still the same
As when of old to your retreats
In wayward mood I came?
The turf is still as soft and green,
As gently falls the shade;
And so 'twould be, though in the grave
This form were lowly laid.

Summer flowers! summer flowers!
Where are the odors sweet,
Brought by the cool and wafting airs
That stole the summer heat?
I never see your petals now
Wet with the early dew;
Alas! my fresh and morning hopes
Have faded, flowers, with you!

Summer friends! summer friends!
The careless, light and gay:
Ye too, with fortune's sunny looks,
Like birds, have flown away;
And like the brooks, and dells, and flowers,
That I so loved to see,
Remain within your happy homes,
And never dream of me!