Commencement poem, written for the
University of California, June,1876.
“Into the balm of the clover,
...
The green leaves grow and grow,
And the birds build in the trees:
Ah, Sweethearts, could I linger, linger,
With soul at ease!
...
(“H. H.”)
What songs found voice upon those lips,
What magic dwelt within the pen,
...
Who say these walls are lonely-these-
They may not see the motley throng
That people it, as thick as bees
The scented clover beds among.
...
The sea is a molten pearl,
And pearl the fleckless sky’
The firstling leaves unfurl,
And the air is a fragrant sigh.
...
The green leaves grow and grow,
And the birds build in the trees;
Ah, sweethearts, could I linger, linger,
With soul at ease!
...
“What gift hast thou got for Me,
The Crucified for thee? ”
No worthy thing:
Nor song, nor praise, nor tears,
...
A lark’s song dropped from heaven,
A rose’s breath at noon;
A still, sweet stream that flows and flows
Beneath a still, sweet moon:
...
Clean winds sweep over it,
Blue sky to cover it,
The sun to give it light
And moon and stars of night;
...
(Eccl. VII,3) To ‘Uncle George Bromley
I hold not that sorrow than laughter
Is better for man;
...