Poems (Davidson)/The Smile of Innocence

by Lucretia Maria Davidson

THE SMILE OF INNOCENCE.

There is a smile of bitter scorn, Which curls the lip, which lights the eye;There is a smile in beauty's morn, Just rising o'er the midnight sky.

There is a smile of youthful joy, When Hope's bright star 's the transient guest;There is a smile of placid age, Like sunset on the billow's breast.

There is a smile, the maniac's smile, Which lights the void which reason leaves,And, like the sunshine through a cloud, Throws shadows o'er the song she weaves.

There is a smile of love, of hope, Which shines a meteor through life's gloom;And there's a smile, Religion's smile, Which lights the weary to the tomb.

There is a smile, an angel's smile, That sainted souls behind them leave;There is a smile that shines through toil, And warms the bosom though in grief;

And there's a smile on Nature's face, When Evening spreads her shades around;A pensive smile when twinkling stars Are glimmering through the vast profound.

But there's a smile, 'tis sweeter still, 'Tis one far dearer to my soul;It is a smile which angels might Upon their brightest list enroll.

It is the smile of innocence, Of sleeping infancy's light dream;Like lightning on a summer's eve, It sheds a soft and pensive gleam.

It dances round the dimpled cheek, And tells of happiness within;It smiles what it can never speak,— A human heart devoid of sin.