Fourteen sonnets and poems/Old Age

by Henry Wilmarth Hazzen

We judge of a man's wisdom by his hope, knowing that the
perception of the inexhaustibleness of nature is an immortal youth.
Emerson.

Old Age

PLEASANT it was in clear October days
To roam the silent fields, or, musing, stand
Beneath the mellow skies, the sun's soft rays,
And feel the touch of Autumn's quiet hand.
Marvelous it was, 'mid Nature's change profound,
To note the life foretold in her decay;
To sense the vigor of the peaceful ground,
In Spring's fresh robes to deck itself for aye.
Glorious it was — the thought of what is mine —
The counterpart of Nature's boundless whole;
Glorious to feel, though late in life's decline,
'Twas early in the journey of the soul.
Thus did these scenes confirm the Sage's truth,
That nature thus perceived is endless youth.