At morn the sun resumed his tranquil reign,
The fair earth smiled through all her frozen tears
And Winter's face revealed his secret fears.
How gorgeous was the scene,—each field and lane
Was paved with purest pearls and sparkling gems,
The darkling furs were hung with diadems,
And every leafless vine was fringed with frost;
While Phoebus' rays on ice gems strangely made
Revealed their rainbow hues; all without cost
The walks of earth like heaven's streets were laid.
The fair earth smiled through all her frozen tears
And Winter's face revealed his secret fears.
How gorgeous was the scene,—each field and lane
Was paved with purest pearls and sparkling gems,
The darkling furs were hung with diadems,
And every leafless vine was fringed with frost;
While Phoebus' rays on ice gems strangely made
Revealed their rainbow hues; all without cost
The walks of earth like heaven's streets were laid.
A HAVEN
My life was launched upon a stormy sea,
Without a pilot for its shallow bark,
To front the storm, the lightnings, and the dark,
The winds and tides that breed adversity
And batter with the waves unceasingly.
And I have fought the elements until
The restless sea has worn away my will,
E'en as it wears the rocks, and conquered me;
And now whene'er a lighthouse lifts its form
Above the outline of the dreamy coast
While my poor bark is rudely tempest tossed,
Without a pilot for its shallow bark,
To front the storm, the lightnings, and the dark,
The winds and tides that breed adversity
And batter with the waves unceasingly.
And I have fought the elements until
The restless sea has worn away my will,
E'en as it wears the rocks, and conquered me;
And now whene'er a lighthouse lifts its form
Above the outline of the dreamy coast
While my poor bark is rudely tempest tossed,
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