A star that glimmers in the far-off gray
Of evening air; the robin's fitful cry;
The cherry trees whose snowy petals fly
Like flocking birds; the smile of blooming May
Lighting a tired world; while far away
A single church bell tolls. Those who would hie
From earth's dull round, find fairy-land may lie
Close to the border of the work-a-day.
A note, a tint, an odor, and the past
Springs into life and glory undefiled.
Woven about the present's gray-hued hours
Gleameth a dreamland beautiful and vast,
Where walks the spirit like a little child
Filling its spotless hands with sunny flowers.