A DECEMBER DAY - James Joseph Sylvester Poems

 
 

Poems » james joseph sylvester » a december day

A DECEMBER DAY

Blue, blue is the sea to-day,
    Warmly the light
Sleeps on St. Andrews Bay --
    Blue, fringed with white.

That's no December sky!
    Surely 'tis June
Holds now her state on high,
    Queen of the noon.

Only the tree-tops bare
    Crowning the hill,
Clear-cut in perfect air,
    Warn us that still

Winter, the aged chief,
    Mighty in power,
Exiles the tender leaf,
    Exiles the flower.

Is there a heart to-day,
    A heart that grieves
For flowers that fade away,
    For fallen leaves ?

Oh, not in leaves or flowers
    Endures the charm
That clothes those naked towers
    With love-light warm.

O dear St. Andrews Bay,
    Winter or Spring
Gives not nor takes away
    Memories that cling

All round thy girdling reefs,
    That walk thy shore,
Memories of joys and griefs
    Ours evermore.