The Sunset Thoughts Of A Dying Girl.

Friends! do you see in yon sunset sky,         That cloud of crimson bright?     Soon will its gorgeous colors die         In coming dim twilight;     E'en now it fadeth ray by ray -     Like it I too shall pass away!     Look on yon fragile summer flower         Yielding its sweet perfume;     Soon shall it have lived out its hour,         Its beauty and its bloom:     Trampled, 'twill perish in the shade -     Alas! as quickly shall I fade.     Mark you yon planet gleaming clear         With steadfast, gentle light,     See, heavy dark clouds hovering near,         Have veiled its radiance bright -     As you vainly search that gloomy spot,     You'll look for me and find me not!     Turn now to yonder sparkling stream,         Where silver ripples play;     Dancing within the moon's pale beam -         Ah! short will be their stay,     They break and die upon the shore -     Like them I soon shall be no more!     Yes! emblems meet of my career,         Are ripple, cloud, and flower;     Fated like me to linger here,         But for a brief, bright hour -     And then, alas! to yield my place;     And leave, perchance, on earth no trace!     No trace, my friends, save in your hearts,         That pure and sacred shrine -     Where, 'spite life's thousand cares and arts,         A place shall yet be mine;     And love as deep as that of yore -     Though on this earth we meet no more!