Classic Poem

Like a beam of the sun she glittered
On a world grown dark and old:
She touched grief's brow and crowned it,
And the sorrowless crown was of gold.
The green woods laughed for gladness;
The sea tossed rainbow spray;
And the hills shook off their sadness,
And the wild rose whispered, " May. "

At the glory in girls' young faces
A man's heart throbs and it stirs:
But I know where the sovereign grace is;
Their beauty is not like hers!
June gladdens, or April pains us:
But their spell is an hour's, or a day's.
They have no strange charm that chains us;
Their magic is not like May's.

And now, if the sunlight leaves me,
If a parting comes with its pang,
If I meet the white ghost Silence
In the room where the young laugh rang,
I shall murmur, in darkness dreaming
Of a girl's bright looks and ways,
" There was never a glance so peerless!
There was never a smile like May's! "