Poems (Hoffman)/Laurel Dell
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LAUREL DELL.
Where the California laurel droops its slender branches low,
'Till they play, caress and quarrel with the lake by which they grow;
Where the flowers bloom the brightest,
Bluest, rosiest and whitest,
Where the water-lilies yellow
Lie like golden fruit and mellow
On the waters, azure waters, dreamy waters of the lake,
There to wander, dream and ponder,
Care and toil and pain forsake;
Cast them madly, sadly, gladly,
On the waters, dreamy waters, there to sleep and never wake.
Here the butterfly enraptured rises on the scented gales,
Gold from liquid sunbeams captured glimmers in his silken sails
As he floats in airy motion
O'er the miniature blue ocean
To the cat-tail flags that shiver,
And the slender reeds that quiver,
O'er the waters, azure waters, crystal waters of the lake.
'Till they play, caress and quarrel with the lake by which they grow;
Where the flowers bloom the brightest,
Bluest, rosiest and whitest,
Where the water-lilies yellow
Lie like golden fruit and mellow
On the waters, azure waters, dreamy waters of the lake,
There to wander, dream and ponder,
Care and toil and pain forsake;
Cast them madly, sadly, gladly,
On the waters, dreamy waters, there to sleep and never wake.
Here the butterfly enraptured rises on the scented gales,
Gold from liquid sunbeams captured glimmers in his silken sails
As he floats in airy motion
O'er the miniature blue ocean
To the cat-tail flags that shiver,
And the slender reeds that quiver,
O'er the waters, azure waters, crystal waters of the lake.