im then with pomp and flourish!
Bury him now I have told you this.

A SONG FOR LABOR.

I.

Oh, the morning meads, the dewy meads,
Where he ploughs and harrows and sows the seeds,
Singing a song of manly deeds,
In the blossoming springtime weather;
The heart in his bosom as high as the word
Said to the sky by the mating bird,
While the beat of an answering heart is heard,
His heart and love's together.

II.

Oh, the noonday heights, the sunny heights,
Where he stoops to the harvest his keen scythe smites,
Singing a song of the work that requites,
In the ripening summer weather;
The soul in his body as light as the sigh
Of the little cloud-breeze that cools the sky,
While he bears an answering soul reply,
His soul and love's together.

III.

Oh, the evening vales, the twilight vales,
Where he labors and sweats to the thud of flails,
Singing a song of the toil that avails,
In the fruitful autumn weather;
In heart and in soul as free from fears
As the first white star in the sky that clears,
While the music of life and of love he hears,
Of life and of love together.

AFTERWORD.

_What vague traditions do the golden eves.
What legends do the dawns
Inscribe in fire on Heaven's azure leaves,
The red sun colophons?_

_What ancient Stories do the waters verse?
What tales of war and love
Do winds within the Earth's vast house rehearse,
God's stars stand guard above?--_

_Would I could know them as they are expressed
In hue and melody!
And say, in words, the beauties they suggest.
Language their mystery!_

_And in one song magnificently rise,
The music of the spheres,
That more than marble should immortalize
My name in after years._

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES

1. Passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_.

2. The original text incorrectly listed "The Path by the Creek" as
beginning on page 3 in the Contents. The poem actually starts on page
2 and this printer error has been corrected in the Contents section.

3. The listing "Sunset and Song" in Contents has been changed to
"Sunset and Storm" in accordance with the title above the poem.

4. The original indentation for "Poppies" stanza has been ignored for
consistency with other stanzas' indentation in the "Musings" section.

5. Other than the corrections listed above, p