Friends! do you see in yon sunset sky,
That cloud of crimson bright?
Soon will its gorgeous colors die
In coming dim twilight;
E-en now it fadeth ray by ray-
Like it I too shall pass away!

Look on yon fragile summer flower
Yielding its sweet perfume;
Soon shall it have lived out its hour,
Its beauty and its bloom:
Trampled, -twill perish in the shade-
Alas! as quickly shall I fade.

Mark you yon planet gleaming clear
With steadfast, gentle light,
See, heavy dark clouds hovering near,
Have veiled its radiance bright-
As you vainly search that gloomy spot,
You-ll look for me and find me not!

Turn now to yonder sparkling stream,
Where silver ripples play;
Dancing within the moon-s pale beam-
Ah! short will be their stay,
They break and die upon the shore-
Like them I soon shall be no more!

Yes! emblems meet of my career,
Are ripple, cloud, and flower;
Fated like me to linger here,
But for a brief, bright hour-
And then, alas! to yield my place;
And leave, perchance, on earth no trace!

No trace, my friends, save in your hearts,
That pure and sacred shrine-
Where, -spite life-s thousand cares and arts,
A place shall yet be mine;
And love as deep as that of yore-
Though on this earth we meet no more!