Occasioned by the sudden death of J.W.N.

The short lived, fragrant, vernal flower,
Which blooms and withers in an hour,
With him may well compare;
His life was like the meteor's light,
Which shone and vanished from the sight—
Dissolving in the air.
Not so the thrilling ties that bind
The loved one's image to the mind—
It lives and brightens there;
Engraved upon each bleeding heart,
Which cannot, will not, deign to part
With such a jewel rare.