Classic Poem

SHADY -S IDE !
Where the liriodendrons stand
Every leaf an outstretched hand,
Every flower a golden chalice
Held aloft in Nature's palace
With bright nectar overrun
From the wine-vats of the sun;
More than all the world beside
Do I love thee, Shady-Side!

Shady-Side,
Where, through vistas green and wide,
Arrows from the sun's red quiver
Pierce the deep and silent river;
Where the wan white lilies lean
Ghost-like 'neath the willows green,
Hiding from the garish light,
Waiting till the lonely Night
Shall, with spectral fingers, trim
Star-lamps in the ether dim —
More than all the world beside
Do I love thee, Shady-Side!

Shady-Side,
Where the maple-branches swing,
While the robins ride and sing;
Where beside a cottage-hearth
Crickets make their social mirth;
Where the cattle in the dell
Rest beside the cool deep well
'Neath the hickory-trees;
But 'tis not for these,
Bird and tree and lily-blossom
Leaning o'er the river's bosom,
More than all the world beside
That I love thee, Shady-Side!

Shady-Side,
Where the bluest, clearest eyes
Looked their last upon the skies;
Where the rosiest, sweetest lips
Purpled in death's dark eclipse;
Where the softest dimpled hands
Stiffened in white muslin bands —
Where my Jose died.
Summer flowers sprang up to meet him,
Summer birds sang loud to greet him;
Violets at his violet eyes
Looked in timid, glad surprise;
And the grosbeak, crimson-crested,
Eagle-eyed and golden-vested,
Kingly troubadour
Bringing from far tropic seas
Strange, entrancing melodies,
Perched beside the door;
Perched where bright mimosa-blooms
Crowded with their rosy plumes;
And, while Jose played,
Poured between the rippling falls
Of his baby shouts and calls,
Sweetest serenade.
But, one morn, his blue eyes, lifted
Skyward, saw the flowers that drifted
Snow-white down heaven's esplanade;
Outstretched, beckoning baby-hands
Wooed him to those Summer-Lands,
While a sweeter strain he heard
Than the song of any bird;
So, with mild angelic features
Turned away from earthly creatures,
That clear summons following on
Through the valley dark and lone
Went he to the sky,
As of old a holy child,
Hearing heavenly accents mild,
Answered, Here am I .

Shady-Side!
I have wandered far and wide;
Where the trailing arbut blows
Close beside the northern snows;
Where the bright pomegranate-tree
Blushes by a southern sea;
Where Canopus through the dark
Skims the waves, a phantom bark;
But I come again
Where the lilies lean beside
Mississippi's solemn tide,
Mourning, by the river's shore,
Little feet that come no more;
And my silent tears are falling,
As I hear the robins calling
All day long in vain.
Every blossom, every tree,
Whispers of the lost to me;
So, to one who loves me best
I would earnest say —
When to my pale lips be prest
Death's cold cup of blessing, pray,
Dear one, lay my weary head
Down to rest beside my dead,
Where, the livelong day,
Sight and sound from Shady-Side
Tell how Jose lived and died.