ACKNOWLEDGMENT

These morning streets, the lawns of windy grass,

And spires that wear the sunlight like a crown,

The square where busy, happy people pass:

The living soul that lights the little Town,—

These have been shining beauty for my mind,

And joy, and friendship, and a tale to tell,

And these have been a presence that is kind,

A quiet music and a healing well.

Men who were lovers in the olden time,

Who praised the beauty of bright hair and brow,

And left a little monument of rhyme,—

Wrought not more tenderly than I would, now,

To turn some changing syllables of praise

For her whose quiet beauty fills my days.