Classic Poem

Oh! for the welcome breath of country air,
With summer skies and flowers,
To shout and feel once more the halcyon
Of gayer boyhood hours.
I think the sight of fields and shady lanes
Would ease my heart of pains.

To cool once more my thirst where bubbled up
The waters of a spring,
Where I have seen the golden daffodils
And lilies flourishing,
My fevered heart would more than half forget
Its sighs, and vain regret.

Far, far away from early scenes am I;
And, too, my youth has fled;
For me a stranger's land, a stranger's sky,
That arches over-head.
For scenes and joys that now have passed me by,
I can but give a sigh.

But Oh! for hearts that yearn and hearts that sigh,
For way ward feet that roam,
Hope whispers for the by and by,
A never-changing home.
And there no more in a strange land will break
The home-sick heart, and ache.