Poem for May 15, 2026

WHEN fragrant gales and summer show'rs

Call'd forth the sweetly scented flow'rs;

When ripen'd sheaves of golden grain,

Strew'd their rich treasures o'er the plain;

When the full grape did nectar yield,

In tepid drops of purple hue;

When the thick grove, and thirsty field,

Drank the soft show'r and bloom'd a-new;

O then my joyful heart did say,

"Sure this is Nature's Holy-day!"

But when the yellow leaf did fade,

And every gentle flow'r decay'd;

When whistling winds, and drenching rain,

Swept with rude force the naked plain;

When o'er the desolated scene,

I saw the drifted snow descend;

And sadness darken'd all the green,

And Nature's triumphs seem'd to end;

O! then, my mourning heart did say,

"Thus Youth shall vanish, Life decay."

When Beauty blooms, and Fortune smiles,

And wealth the easy breast beguiles;

When pleasure from her downy wings,

Her soft bewitching incense flings;

THEN, Friends look kind­and round the heart

The brightest flames of passion move,

False Flatt'ry's soothing strains impart

The warmest Friendship­fondest Love;

But when capricious FORTUNE flies,

Then FRIENDSHIP fades;­and PASSION dies.