Poems (Ryan)/Oh! The Flowers

by Mary C. Ryan

OH! THE FLOWERS.

Oh! the flowers that bloom in beauty to-day,
To-morrow may fade, so soon they decay,
They'll vanish from earth, e'er summer is o'er,
They'll pass like the dew, and blossom no more.

So hopes we cherish so fondly to-day,
Will flee from our grasp, like shadows away;
And in the heart's depths will leave a great void,
Or will sever in twain love's silken chord.

But time speeds on, and lo! other flowers,
Will spring into life in other bright hours;
But only to bloom in beauty, then die
As the rosy-winged summers pass by.

Thus hope after hope, from youth to old age,
With sweet magic power our souls will engage.
Then pass from our ken, like sunbeams away.
To bloom in the spring of eternal day.

And friends we love in this cold world of ours,
Will fall midst joys and perish like flowers,
For soon on this earth man's short life is o'er;
And then, when once gone, he returns no more.

Though life for a while is full of delight,
Still work and watch for the on-coming night,
Oh! live not alone for one sunny day,
For time's on wings, and will soon fly away.

And then, when earth and its pleasures are gone,
We'll cling to the hope which lingers alone.
As a handful of clay is laid 'neath the sod,
The spirit returns, and lives with its God.