Page:Poems Betham.djvu/63

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ON THE REGRET OF YOUTH. ——

Before a rose is fully blown,
 The outward leaves announce decay;
So, ere the spring of Youth is flown,
 Its tiny pleasures die away;

The gay security we feel,
 The careless soul's delighted rest,
That lively hope, that ardent zeal,
 And smiling sunshine of the breast.