Classic Poem

Why shouldst thou distrust my gift,
Although opal be its name?
Thou shalt not when I gently lift
All the veils that hide its flame
And show the glories it may claim.

Its descent is very high, —
From the flood, when long ago
The bow of promise arched the sky;
And still it lives, that first great bow,
In fragments which as opals glow.

For see, there is an emerald light
Of springtime hope the lovely hue,
The sea hath not a tint more bright;
And then there comes a sapphire blue,
And glowing red enfolds the two.

Triune these opals are, they mean
Three holy things which live above:
A fervent hope shines in the green,
And constancy the blue will prove,
And red the heart burns, for 'tis love.