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Bright, glorious things, they sparkle there,
Like gems along my pathway strewn:
Though every form I see is fair,
Each bears some beauty all its own.
Like gems along my pathway strewn:
Though every form I see is fair,
Each bears some beauty all its own.
And as a flowery wreath I twine,
Of countless forms, but lovely all,
What varied lights and shades combine,
To grace that simple coronal!
Of countless forms, but lovely all,
What varied lights and shades combine,
To grace that simple coronal!
Some brighter far than tongue can tell,
In gorgeous lustre dazzling bloom,—
Some paly as the tinted shell,
That sleeps beneath the ocean foam.
In gorgeous lustre dazzling bloom,—
Some paly as the tinted shell,
That sleeps beneath the ocean foam.
And when, like sisters hand in hand,
The countless hues that mingle there,
Together twine in one bright band,
Oh! what can earth produce more fair?
The countless hues that mingle there,
Together twine in one bright band,
Oh! what can earth produce more fair?
I love them all,—each tells to me
Some tale of bright and childhood hours;
And gentlest chords of memory
Still wreathe around those summer flowers.
Some tale of bright and childhood hours;
And gentlest chords of memory
Still wreathe around those summer flowers.
A dream of days and pleasures gone,
Floats dimly o'er their forms again,
Like that which lingering haunts the tone
Of some long-loved familiar strain.
Floats dimly o'er their forms again,
Like that which lingering haunts the tone
Of some long-loved familiar strain.
