Poems (Edwards)/The Sweets of Life

by Matilda Caroline Smiley Edwards

THE SWEETS OF LIFE.

Sweet is the breath of summer flowers,
 When zephyrs glide along
Through the green woods and shady bowers,
 In murmurs of sweet song;
Sweet is the whisper of the rill,
 And sweet the hum of bees,
When, with glad wings, they wander out
 Upon the flowery leas;
But sweeter far than purling rills,
 Or than the fragrant flowers,
Are words of friendship, kind and dear,
 And smiles that answer ours.

Sweet is the light of opening day,
 And sweet the rising sun,
When stars from yonder azure sky,
 Are fading, one by one;
Sweet is the hour when evening spreads
 Her mantle o'er the earth,
When loved ones, free from daily cares,
 Are gathering round the hearth;
But sweeter far than morning dews,
 Or than the starry showers,
Are those, whose every hope and joy,
 Are ever blent with ours.

Sweet is the rustling of the leaves,
 When summer winds pass by,
When not a lowering cloud obscures
 The brightness of the sky;
Sweet is the minstrelsy of birds,
 Amid the shady grove,
When every tongue seems breathing forth
 The melody of love;
But sweeter far than singing birds,
 Or woods, or rills, or bowers,
Are hearts of tenderness and love,
 That kindly throb with ours.