Page:All quiet along the Potomac and other poems.djvu/106

Far more than doll in dainty dress,
With ruddy lip and golden tress,
For Daisy passed, with that caress,
⁠⁠⁠Away for ever.

There babyhood told its last hour,
And time with strange, resistless power,
Flung off the calyx of life s flower,
⁠⁠⁠Unclosed for ever.

Ah, daughter Daisy ! on the strand
Of life s bright wave I see thee stand,
While toys slip idly from thy hand,
⁠⁠⁠Shattered for ever,

Clasping new bubbles as they rise,
Grasping the bow on summer skies,
That promises to maiden eyes
⁠⁠⁠Gay tints for ever.

I, who have seen the shifting sun
Unmask cloud-pageants one by one,
See only vapors cold and dun
⁠⁠⁠Around me ever.

Yet no dark shadow will I hold,
To chill thee with its gloom and cold;
God keep thine heart from growing old,
⁠⁠⁠Now and for ever !

So let the painted plaything lie,
With but a brief and sinless sigh