Love or Fame; and Other Poems Part 8

And now the stars are bending slowly To kiss the lilies white; Who e'en their fragrant heads are lifting In wonder at the sight.

And one twin lily now is longing For light and heaven above; And yields unto her star-king's keeping Her wealth of life and love.

And as the star-G.o.d bends in rapture To kiss her pale, white face, Her soul is wafted into heaven Beneath his love and grace.

Twin lilies in the tide were floating, With quickly coming breath, But one is left, with sad tears falling, To mourn her sister's death.

Twin stars upon the waves were gleaming; Two star-G.o.ds pure and bright; But one is left--that one is fading And dying with the night.

Memory

A treasured link of s.h.i.+ning pearls, A by-gone melody, A shower of tears with smiles between-- And this is memory.

A thing so light a breath of air May waft its life away; A thing so dark that moments of pain Seem like some endless day.

A careless word may wound the heart, And quickly it may die; Yet in the seas of memory Forever it will lie.

And sometimes when the tide rolls back Its waves of joy and pain, That careless word, though long forgot, Will wound the heart again.

The restless seas of memory Are vast and deep and wide; And every deed that we can know Sleeps in that tireless tide.

Upon the thoughtless lives of men Its waves in mockery roll; And sweep a might of bitter pain Across each human soul.

And few can stand upon the sands Beside this boundless sea, And say with calm unfaltering voice "It has no grief for me."

The pa.s.sing wave may bear away Our deeds and words untrue; Yet surely as the tide comes in The wrecks will follow too.

Moonlight.

Oh, what so subtle as the spell The silvery moonlight weaves?

Oh, what so sad and what so glad, And what so soon deceives.

A vision of the long ago-- Long years of pain between; A mocking dream of happier days-- A veil of silver sheen.

A pa.s.sing gleam of falling stars-- An idle summer's dream; The sudden waking of a heart-- Things are not as they seem.

Oh, silver moon, indeed you hold The secrets of the heart; And none can know and none can guess The mystery of thy art.

A silver length of rippling waves, A glance from happy eyes; A strain of music low and sweet-- The heart in rapture lies.

Yet, ah, how faithless are the vows Made 'neath the summer moon; As changing as the falling rays That fade away as soon.

For love is like the subtle spell The sliver moonlight weaves; And what so sad and what so glad And what so soon deceives?

The Star of Youth.

The sun sinks down in the crimson west, Oh, a beautiful sun is he; With his purple robes and his crown of gold And his feet dipped in the sea.

Along the sh.o.r.e where the sea-weeds lie Like threads of her tangled hair, Naomi stands in the amber glow Of the mystical sunset air.

Her hair is brown, with a yellow tinge That rivals the gold of the west; Her eyes are dark with the velvety glow That darkens the pansy's breast.

A star s.h.i.+nes out in the purple east, Oh, a beautiful star is he!

With his home in the wonderful azure skies, And his throne in the deep blue sea.

There are bars of gold in the crimson west And jewels on every bar; Yet Naomi's soul is beyond the sea, And her eyes are fixed on the star.

O star that s.h.i.+nes in the dusky east, Be thou the star of my youth, And guide my soul through the shadows of earth To the s.h.i.+ning gates of truth.

There are years that melt in the seas of life Like drops in the ocean of time; And the joys they bring are as soon forgot As the words of a careless rhyme.

Be thou the light that shall guide me far From the years that vanish as rain, And lead my soul to the feet of G.o.d, Even through years of pain.

The Day is Dead.

The day is dead, And evening trails her purple robes In fading fires of red.

The day is dead.

And yonder lily welcomes sleep And nods her weary head.

The day is dead, And night droops low her sable plumes To mourn the glory fled.