Page:Poems Denver.djvu/254

The same spring beauty lingered round,
 On each familiar spot;
Man leaves his dwelling place for aye,
 But Nature heedeth not.

So thought the weary emigrants,
 As, pausing on the hill,
They watched the scene that lay below,
 So peaceable and still.
And they wondered if the kindred, left
 So many months before,
Still cherished them within their hearts
 As warmly as of yore.

A glad voice swelled along the hill,
 Ending all thought of pain,
As loved ones hurried forth to greet
 The wanderers again.
And soon warm hands were clasping hands,
 And hearts ran o'er with joy,
And eyes that lacked an object long,
 At length found full employ.

But when they asked for Emily,
 Each kindred eye grew dim;
And every heart drooped mournfully,
 While filling to the brim;
And suddenly, amidst the group,
 A spell was thrown around,
As if the lips had given voice
 To some forbidden sound.