Selected Poetry.

Western Star, Issue 1353, 11 May 1889, Page 1 (Supplement)

Selected Poetry.

BYGONE DAYS. Oh, well do I remember The happy days gone by, When down life's flowery path I tripped Beneath the sunny sky. That path was Bmooth and thornleßS; All cloudless was the sky ,- Twas youth's beauteous golden morningi In the happy days gone by. Our dwelling-place was humble, But Peace and Love reigned there; Not far off were the grand old hills, Near by, the river fair. And my father and my mother, And my merry brothers four, Made life very, very precious. In the happy days of yore. The grand old hills have changed not, The river as of yore Is singing jrtill the same sweet song, But ourjcottage is no more. And I stand, a lonely stranger, Where a heap of ruins lie ; i There once stood our peaceful homestead In the happy days gone by. Ah, youth's beauteous golden morning Has long since passed away. And age with deepening shadows falls Around me chill and grey; And cares and sorrows are. my friends, And darkened is life's sky! Still, like some far-off dream, thoughts comt Of the happy daj s gone by. Our cottage is in ruins, Its inmates, where are they ? My parents kind, my brothers four, Where are they all to-day ? My parents dear are sleeping In the churchyard on the hill, And near them lies their youngest son, My dear wee brother Phil. Jack is sleeping in the desert, And Jim beneath the sea; And oceans wide and vast divide Dear Valentine from me. But in a better country, And beneath a brighter sky, Together all, we'll joyful be, As in happy days gone by.