Page:Poems Ryan.djvu/35

  So now reflect,
  O'er each defect;
Truly thy sins bewail;
  And watch and pray
  For that sweet day
Death lifts life's mystic veil.

  For at life's close,
  How sweet to lose,
For the eternal day,
  These years of woe;
  Never to know
A joy that will decay.

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A GEM WITHOUT A FLAW.

I tried to buy a jewel bright,
 Of purest serenest ray;
Without a flaw to mar the beauteous gleams
 That o'er its surface play.

I thought I'd wear a thornless rose,
 Forever upon my heart;
A sweet red rose, that to life's dreary scenes
 Rich fragrance would impart.

And then I sought to find a friend,
 Who faultless would ever prove;
His heart, a cup to hold the sweets of life,
 Receptacle of love.