Spirit of youth and joy and hope and love,
All this thy essence is and dwells in thee,
This praise but mocks thee, whilst thou soar’st above
Such vague assaults, in nature’s witchery!
Thou art a pearl, snatched from the angry deep,
A star, which envy hurled from comrade suns,
An opal, where all rays reflected sleep,
The summer lightning, glistering as it runs;
All things that loveable and lovely are,
Such thou appearest, in thy joyous hour;
Oft frolicsome as leaves, that dance from far,
When the wind dallies with some pensive flower;
All these thou art yet all of these express
Nought of the magic of thy loveliness.