VALENTINE'S DAY.
Beloved, no great birthday dawn Of summer tinct with spices fine,Of sapphire skies and splendid blooms, Can dim the dear delight of thine!The ardent arch of August daysMay veil itself in wizard haze; But not in all such sweet decline Fate sent thee for my Valentine!
The winter weather, clear and fair, When all the air from stain was free,And far and blue the still sky soared O'er lands of calm from hill to sea;While deepening sunsets long and lowEbbed ruddier over blushing snow,— That winter weather summoned thee To life itself, to life and me.
How clean the land reposed! How pure From sky to sky its spotless white!
