MUTATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2106, 5 July 1894, Page 39

MUTATION.

King Frost has been withmurd'rous hand, Relentless as a thurtells ; Beheaded all the lily flowers And pinched to death my myrtles. The mignonette that grew so strong Over the window-bed. Has drooped its leaves dejectedly And bowed each fragrant head. A few white rosebuds still remain My eager eyes to greet, In patient loneliness they wait ; But oh 1 they are not sweet. And all with glittering crystal gems Are exquisitely dight, But hard and cold— too well we know Death's seal is stiff, and— white. I hie me to the vine-clad house ; Alas! the gardener's care Has made with busy pruning knife A desolation there. Yet Nature has been busier still ' I see 'mid richest green Clust'ring camellia buds, which rest In hopefulness serene. And spikes of bloom on Cactus leaves— Anon, the gorgeous flowers Shall burst in crimson radiancy, Cascading those slim towers. Ferns with their witchery of form Flourish luxuriantly ; "While many a bulb is peeping forth With slow persistency. How varied is this present life : Emotions sadly sweet Depress the heart ; then-suddenly Joys gather round our feet. Gladly all Nature heeds the voice That breaks thro' the starry sky ; Atd chastened souls with rapture jom The unceasing harmony. Dunedin, June 28. —A. D. TO 1.X., DUNEDIN. Across a thousand miles of sea Whose waves and skies are winter gray, And dark the air with fog and spray, My straining eyes would pierce to thee. And in a vision dim and far I see again each windy street, I see the friend whom I shall greet Again upon some other star, But here no more ; for lam found No longer in the peopled ways, With pain I pass the lonely days, And thou with ties of home art bound. Yet oft the heart with longing fills To see my friend with earthly eyes, Behold again the town that lies Beside the sea, among the hills. But your remembrance still is sweet, O, Friend, these eyes will never see t O, Town, whose streets again by me Will ne'er be tred with mortal eet — Wm. Gay. Kangaroo Flat, Victoria, June 16, 1894.