'Mid the flow'rets let me wander
Where the sparkling dewdrops shine,
Covering o'er the works of nature--
Would that scene were ever mine;
Let it float a down my memory
And, in fancy, 'fore my gaze
Shine in glorious, dazzling splendor
Picture of my childhood days.
Oh, my childhood, wasted childhood,
Glimmers still in fancy's bloom;
But its pleasure and its gladness
Now have sunk 'neat manhood gloom;
But the sight of hanging roses
Weeping with the dew of dawn,
Brings me back, in fancy, pleasure
That old time has long withdrawn.
But how diff'rent grow our feelings
As we count the steps of time;