Classic Poem

I met thee in the summer time,
The summer of my youth—
In days of my melodious prime
And thine unsullied truth.
I met thee when the jasmine buds
Their velvet locks reveal;
Till I loved thee, till I loved thee,
Darling Damsel of Mobile!

O shining tresses of the sun!
O eyes of ocean blue!
O dainty feet to nimbly run
Upon the glittering dew!
The cypress breathes its gloomy buds
On all I felt and feel—
Still I love thee! Still I love thee!
Darling Damsel of Mobile!

‘And now the summer time no more,
The vikings of the rain
Thunder their turf-steeds on the shore
And prowl the jasmine plain;
The night shade blackens on my brow,
The lightnings gash like steel—
But a summer heart still throbs for thee,
Darling Damsel of Mobile!