THE JUNE COUPLE

She is fair to see and sweet,

Dainty from her head to feet,

Modest, as her blushing shows,

Happy, as her smiles disclose,

And the young man at her side

Nervously attempts to hide

Underneath a visage grim

That the fuss is bothering him.

Pause a moment, happy pair!

This is not the station where

Romance ends, and wooing stops

And the charm from courtship drops;

This is but the outward gate

Where the souls of mortals mate,

But the border of the land

You must travel hand in hand.

You who come to marriage, bring

All your tenderness, and cling

Steadfastly to all the ways

That have marked your wooing days.

You are only starting out

On life's roadways, hedged about

Thick with roses and with tares,

Sweet delights and bitter cares.

Heretofore you've only played

At love's game, young man and maid;

Only known it at its best;

Now you'll have to face its test.

You must prove your love worth while,

Something time cannot defile,

Something neither care nor pain

Can destroy or mar or stain.

You are now about to show

Whether love is real or no;

Yonder down the lane of life

You will find, as man and wife,

Sorrows, disappointments, doubt,

Hope will almost flicker out;

But if rightly you are wed

Love will linger where you tread.

There are joys that you will share,

Joys to balance every care;

Arm in arm remain, and you

Will not fear the storms that brew,

If when you are sorest tried

You face your trials, side by side.

Now your wooing days are done,

And your loving years begun.