IN AN OLD GARDEN

Yellow roses, purple pansies, Tufts of heavy-headed stocks; Either side the quaint old gateway Blazing, torch-like hollyhocks. Sweet peas tossing airy banners, Saintly lilies bending low, Daisies, powdering all the green sward With a shower of summer snow. Boxwood borders—yews fantastic— Wallflowers that with every sigh Spill such scent that e’en the brown bees, Reel with rapture wandering by. And the pear trees, long arms stretching O’er the sunny gable wall, Scarce can hold their ruddy nurslings Ripening where the warm beams fall. Oh, the ecstasy of living! How it thrills my life to-day! I can almost hear the flower-bells Tinkle where my footsteps stray! In a garden God first placed man, There first woke Love’s magic thrill; And methinks a breath of Eden Clings to earth’s old gardens still.