Poems (Edwards)/To a Group of Children at Play
TO A GROUP OF CHILDREN AT PLAY.
Ye happy children! who may tell How bright your lots may be,Who, who can lift the misty veil That hides from you the unseen vale, Of joy or misery?
Some,—some among you, well T know, Will taste the sweets of life;And some will drink the cup that teems With golden hopes and sparkling dreams, With dewy freshness rife.
And some will walk the thorny road Where every rose has fled,Where every bliss will flee away, Where flowers will wither and decay, And crumble at your tread.
Alas! alas! that joys like yours Should come, but to depart,That all the sunshine of each mind Should pass away, and leave behind A shadow for each heart.