SELECTED VERSE

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1798, 22 August 1906, Page 4

SELECTED VERSE

SONG. That Spring is the fairest Whose Winter was long! That Joy is the rarest Which follows Grief’s wrong! That Art wo most cherish Which costs us most toil! That Faith cannot perish Which Death cannot foil! Those hearts cling' the nearest Which Fate tries to sever, And Love gained the dearest Is gained, and for ever! G.G.E. THE SECRET. Can Life be this: a thin flame in the hand; A sudden impulse, shaping to a kiss; A growth of magic underneath a wand; Can Life he this? Spring comes: and with it comes the clematis; Flames flicker into life, a moment fanned, Then fall to dark from momentary bliss. Is this our Life; flaming at God’s command, Or flowering at Springtide? Nay, I wis Wo are hut strangers in a faery-land: Can Life be this? Frederick Manning. SWEET PHYLLIS. When Phyllis walks her orchard The shadows dance along, The blackbird sings to greet her His maddest, merriest song, And all the dewy apples (Their .little hearts astir) Believe themselves in Eden For just the sight of her! When Phyllis sleeps at midnight Tlie stars creep down the sky To whisper with the roses A silver lullaby. They bold their breath and watch her, Beside her casement bars, Sweet rose of all the roses, The sister of the stars. And when she wakes at morning, I watch beside the stair, To see the sunbeams follow The glory of her hair; But, oh! when Phyllis cometh, Then all my_ pulses stir, I walk a happier Eden For very love of her! Fred. E. Weatherly-