TO MARY ON EARTH.

———

BY A. J. REQUIER.

———

I’m thinking of thee, Mary,

And twilight shadows fall

With mournful stillness o’er the scene

And deepen on the wall;

But with the dim, departing light,

Breaks faintly, from afar,

Upon the bosom of the night,

A solitary star!

I’m thinking of thee, Mary,

For like that twilight scene,

The dusk and dew were on my heart,

To darken what was green;

The dusk and dew were falling fast

Upon its faded dreams,

When, through the gloom, thy young love cast

The fervor of its beams.

I’m thinking of thee, Mary,

For in this lonely hour

A thought of other times will come,

Of parted friends will lower;

And early images arise,

With freshness flushed in pain,

Of tender forms and tearful eyes

I may not see again.

I’m thinking of thee, Mary,

For when such moments dwell

Upon my spirits with the weight

Of a departing knell,

A thought of thee breaks through the night

Of memories that mar,

With the lone glory of that bright,

That solitary star!

Oh, Mary, Mary, Mary dear!

If in my bosom shine

One hope, one dream, one single wish,

That single wish is thine;

And if to see and feel and hear

But thee, in heart and brain,

Be love, I love thee, Mary dear,

And cannot love again!