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JAMES MATTHEWS LEGARE
219
But underneath the glossy leaves,
When, working out the perfect law,
The blossoms white and fragrant still
Drop from the haw;
Like worthy deeds in silence wrought
And secret, through the lapse of years,
In clusters pale and delicate
The fruit appears.
In clusters pale and delicate
But waxing heavier each day,
Until the many-colored leaves
Drift from the spray.
Then pendulous, like amethysts
And rubies, purple ripe and red,
Wherewith God s feathered pensioners
In flocks are fed.
Therefore, sweet reader of this rime,
Be unto thee examples high
Not calmias and goldenrods
That scentless die:
But the meek blossoms of the haw,
That fragrant are wherever wind
The forest paths, and perishing
Leave fruits behind.
