Page:Poems Ryan.djvu/27

In silence came the rose's sweet breath,
 Each flow'ret's brilliant hue;
Trees robed in green, and e'en o'er earth,
 A canopy of blue.

But noiselessly the golden light,
 Became a sombre hue,
When the dark goddess of the night
 Passed o'er the sky of blue.
Then silently came the hoar frost,
 And nipped the flowers fair,
Each drooped and pined upon the stalk,
 Withered in silence there.

Thus round the sun so noiselessly,
 This great orb whirls with speed,
As ages of eternity
 Pass with a silent tread.
Without a jar nature performs
 Each task assigned by God,
Marred only by some sudden storms,
 Strokes of His chast'ning rod.

E'en silently years pass away,
 And leave us unawares;
The young grow old, but can not say
 When 'twas, nor how, nor where.
So listlessly as time passes by,
 We learn its truths too late;
Amazed we live, and love, and die,
 Then meet an unknown fate.