Only a Fern Leaf. TO H. M.
Reading edition
ONLY a fern leaf, darling, Yellow and dry with age, Only a date recorded Down at the ending page. Only a breath from the mountain, A song with the summer wed; Only the voice of a fountain, Only a dream that is dead. Only a faded morning, With a shadow falling through, Only a hint of warning— A cloud in the far off blue. Only a word of parting Under a starlit sky; Only a tear that is starting, A long and a last good bye. Only a face of sorrow Turned to a vanished year— Only a fern leaf, darling, Glued to the pages here.
