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Some just revealing a first crimson line;
Some half unfolded, some in their full bloom;
One charming whole, of diverse charms combined.
'Tis yours o'er infancy kind watch to keep;
To listen to the words half-formed that fall
From ruby lips just stammering to pronounce;
And childhood's shout and laugh, perchance its cries,
Since showers and sunshine fill its changeful day.
'Tis yours to note youth's impulses, that swell
With passion's rising flood the heaving breast
That resteth not, but yearns with vague desire;
That needs kind sympathy and wisest skill,
To cool the fever of fresh life that throbs
With pulses too intense, and shape aright
The forming purpose and aspiring aim.
To these high tasks returned, your faces wear
A smile of peace again, and hope's bright glow.
The missing, not forgot, hath been transformed
Into a precious jewel of the soul,
That, in the dear fidelity of love,
With many a pensive, many a pleasing thought.