ACANTHUS

Beneath the sculptured marble portico

Of a Greek temple, white against the sky,

Carved capitals on pillars rising high

Gleam like great blossoms in the noonday's glow.

Proudly each column in the stately row

Its crown of beauty wears; the sunbeams die

Among acanthus leaves that nestling lie

Where they were carved two thousand years ago.

Eternal Beauty, thou wilt not be bound

By time-forged fetters, but dost find a home

Where Gothic pillars rise acanthus-crowned

Beneath gray northern spires or southern dome,

Eternal Beauty, Everlasting Truth,

Thou hast the secret of undying youth.