MEMORY PICTURES

I

A WIDE-SPRING meadow in a rosy dawn

Bedropt with virgin buds; an orient sky Fleeced with a dappled cloud but half withdrawn;

A mad wind blowing by, O’er slopes of rippling grass and glens apart;

A brackened path to a wild-woodland place

. A limpid pool with a fair, laughing face Mirrored within its heart.

II

An ancient garden brimmed with summer sun Upon a still and slumberous afternoon;

Old walks and pleasances with shadows spun Where honeyed odors swoon;

A velvet turf with blossoms garlanded; A hedge of Mary-lilies white and tall; And, shining out against a lichened wall,

A stately-golden head.

III

An autumn hilltop in the sunset hue, Pine boughs uptossed against the crystal west, And, girdled with the twilight dim and blue, A valley peace-possessed ; A high-sprung heaven stained with colors rare, A sheen of moonrise on the sea afar, And, bright and soft as any glimmering star, Eyes holy as a prayer.

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