Classic Poem

'Twas Summer, and its youngest kiss
Fell on the rose-red lip of June;
Veiled in delicious haze, the sun
Made, for our vale, its tenderest noon.

The gentlest of all gentle winds
Stole o'er the silver of the stream;
'Twas Summer lapt in Autumn's sleep,
The stillness of Spring's stillest dream.

Away, away, among the woods,
Where winds are rambling, let me too
Wander, and feed upon the summer air,
Tasting the freshness of the undried dew.

O summer of the silent heart!
How rich the song your sunshine sings;
O luxury of tranquil thought,
This dreamy hour of sunshine brings!

O sunshine of the laughing lip,
Soften your colours for a day;
Take on this mild and mellow light,
Mingle the quiet with the gay.

O shadows of the pensive heart!
Glow into sunlight, as the love
Comes down, in ever-gushing streams,
From the great heart of God above.

The shadow and the sunlight thus
God tempers for us here below;
Mixing for us the joy and fear,
The safest cup for man below.