  I looked upon the fair young flowers That in our gardens bloom, Gazed on their winning loveliness, And then upon the tomb; I looked upon the smiling earth, The blue and cloudless sky, And murmured in my spirit's depths, "O I can never die!" As she danced lightly by, Her heart was glad with love and hope, Its pulse with youth beat high; I sought my mother's quiet smile, She fondly drew me nigh, And still I said within my heart, "O I can never die!" Stern winter came,—the fairy flowers Were swept by storms away, And swiftly passed the verdant bloom Of summer's lovely day; My mother's smile grew more serene, And brighter was her eye, And now I know her only as An angel in the sky. Upon my sister's smile, Had checked the voice of gladsome mirth, And bounding step the while; And when the bright spring came again, And clouds forsook the sky, Then I knelt down and thanked my God There was a time to die. |
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