Classic Poem

Occasioned by the sudden death of J.W.N.

The short lived, fragrant, vernal flower,
Which blooms and withers in an hour,
With him may well compare;
His life was like the meteor's light,
Which shone and vanished from the sight--
Dissolving in the air.

Not so the thrilling ties that bind
The loved one's image to the mind--
It lives and brightens there;
Engraved upon each bleeding heart,
Which cannot, will not, deign to part
With such a jewel rare.