Poems (Helen Jenkins)/Gladness

​
GLADNESS.
Welcome! mystic, merry spirit! Twice, thrice welcome here to-night!For thy sweet smile o'er my pillow Casts a joyous, softened light.Prithee, Gladness, fold thy pinions! Never would I wish thy flight,With the stars thy vigil keeping,Whose bright eyes are never sleeping,— Thine are not less bright.
When thou art near, my joyous fancy Fetterless as air doth fly,From the beauteous earth beneath To the stars up-regioned high.All the world is robed in glory When thy magic wand is nigh;Vanishes all midnight blackness,Joy-light springeth out of darkness, Lighteth up the saddest eye.
Out in songs of merriest laughter Gushes now the jubilant earth;While our blithesome hearts are brimming Over with ecstatic mirth;And the varied forms of nature, In fresh beauty shining forth,Cheer and light each soul a-weary,Till the darkest path seems flowery, Spoiled no more by blight or dearth.
This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.