Poems (Bradford)/Bear lake, the beautiful
BEAR LAKE, THE BEAUTIFUL
O beautiful Lake of the Bear Nestled midst hills of green, Your waters so blue and so fair To me are the dearest e'er seen. For when the joyous spring has come, And crickets chirp and wild bees hum, The tamarack droops her plumy sprays Throughout the shining golden days.
Above you water lilies grow Nature's purest, sweetest child. With rubbery stems and bloom of snow Sprung from the mud yet undefiled. The tall spikes of the cardinal flower Gleam from the marshland's emerald bower. The lady's-slipper, orchid rare, Fox-glove and Indian pipe are there.
But when October dims the sky The aster shows her purple rays And flocks of geese go honking by Sumac and maple redly blaze. Then winter comes with icy breath And dooms your flowers to sudden death. But even in your shroud you're fair, For O, I love you, Lake of the Bear!