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