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The boundless trust of conscious truth,
Deceived, may weep away its prime,—
And yet the warmth of golden youth
Glow on, unchilled by grief or time.
Deceived, may weep away its prime,—
And yet the warmth of golden youth
Glow on, unchilled by grief or time.
Yes; though departing, one by one,
Each cherished idol drops away,
Until the last bright star is gone,
Which beamed o'er life's declining day;
Yet still, on Memory's tearful dream,
The sight of others' bliss can shed
A purer joy's reflected beam,
A light subdued, not wholly fled.
Each cherished idol drops away,
Until the last bright star is gone,
Which beamed o'er life's declining day;
Yet still, on Memory's tearful dream,
The sight of others' bliss can shed
A purer joy's reflected beam,
A light subdued, not wholly fled.
And e'en when one sad heart must drain
The bitterest cup of earthly woe,
When disappointment, care, and pain,
Seem man's sole heritage below;
Yet still where sorrows chastened come,
Subdued, not hardened feelings rise,
And peace and love may lingering bloom,
Where joy for ever withered lies.
The bitterest cup of earthly woe,
When disappointment, care, and pain,
Seem man's sole heritage below;
Yet still where sorrows chastened come,
Subdued, not hardened feelings rise,
And peace and love may lingering bloom,
Where joy for ever withered lies.
And some there are, whose early dreams,
Youth's poetry, outlives its years;
In whom each spring of feeling seems
Unchilled by time, undimmed by tears:
Though o'er their closing day may lower
Dark clouds of earthly woe and care,
The sunshine of life's morning hour,
Its tints of light still linger there.
Youth's poetry, outlives its years;
In whom each spring of feeling seems
Unchilled by time, undimmed by tears:
Though o'er their closing day may lower
Dark clouds of earthly woe and care,
The sunshine of life's morning hour,
Its tints of light still linger there.
