Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1896-04-02

| anu IEluh ITO more Oh nome.
Each holds blossom in his hand,
blossom and leaf,
| The blossom as a sign of bliss, the lea
sign Of grief;
| For, in the flotsam of the sea, the lei
sam Of the strait,
No homeward calling voice is heard, n
home bound shallops wait
Each one had kissed both leaf an
flower held close in clasping hand,
And life is, as it were, dream-a dream
in lotos land.
They hear wierd songs that float acros
al opalescent sea;
Temples and towers they walk, built III
where land may never be;
Fountains where perfumed waters dri,
on isles of shoreless calm
And ships that sail on unseen waves tt
ports of blessed balm
The witch song of the Lorelei fall:
family on the ear;
In one unending circle runs the sum.
mer or the year
Where, one by one, these dreamers pace
the pearly pebbled sand:
And rosy lips kiss leaf and flower in an
enchanted land.
'Tis but fancy of my own, dear broth
ers Of the pen;
But still it seems to me as it had come
to life again
The pageant by the poet seen, that Ten
nysonic rune,
OF mariner s who came where it was
always after noon,"
Who " sat upon the yellow sands" be-
side the fields of foam,''
And sPellbonnd by their magic sang
I'VE will no longer rOam."
The fields of yellow sands are here, and
here the fields of crystal foam,
And you to me are tn mariners, far off
from friends and home.
You've passed the ancient city's gate :
enter our open doors;
Our hearts are in our open hands and
hearts and hands are yours.
From lips that tremble with delight,
our words of welcome flow;
The southland of the roses greets the
northland of the snow.
You come to us from rock bound coast,
from shores of golden sand,
From lakes in icy fetters riven, from
snow crownd mountain land.
Rut nou ,ou,yo oroooad c. No.. s.
stream and reached our summer land,
You are our brothers, sisters, friends !:
your wish is our command.
And if, perchance, from leaf or flower
as through the land you roam.
Y on feel the charm that long ago Law
In the lOtos bloom,
No words of ours dare break the spell
that tempts you here to rest,
Where fruits and flowers of Eden grow
on Natures bounteous breast.
You stand upon historic ground where
centuries ago
Juan Ponce De Leon fell before the
spear of savage foe.
Twas here Sir Francis Drake sailed in
with fire and sword to slay,
Where rose the gonfalon of Spain on
Anantatia Bay
And here Fort Marco g wall attests how
shell and sand and lime,
Compact by skillful hands resist the
crumbling touch of time;
And tower and spire and gate still
stand, those old days to recall,
When Saxon, Gaul and Seminole trod
OIL The old sea wall.
The Indian river of romance in dia-
mond sparkling spray,
Will flash its Melcome as you pass, to
tarry at Palm bay;
Where, if an Eden still exists for anv
mortal eye
Or an Aladdin palace lifts it's tur-
rets to the sky
'Tis where, in palm and orchid paths,
and IN enchanted halls,
You III hear the airs of Paradise, from
Poinciana's walls.
Beneath the light Of sun or moon, with
glory all its own,
The river of delight flows down, to kiss
the tropic zone.
Y ct fairer still, beneath the stars, its
phosphorescent beams,
Flash out mysterious messages, from
the fairy land of dreams.
And ever and for evermore, for respite
or repose,
The warm waves kiss the shores OF
bliss where the Indian river flows
But, would you seek the fabled fount
of Ponce De Icons day?
These waters Of immortal youth, ar,
hidden hereaway.
Come, search amid our inland lakes
belted with oak and pine;
Perchance more fortunate than he, i'll
nectar will be thine;
For there are whispers in the woods
and lispings faint and far,
Abiding in the solitudes where tn,
magic waters are.
Nor would we bid you pause, even then
since over in the west,
The waters of the gulf surround tn,
sunset isles OF rest.