Memoirs of Anne C. L. Botta/To Nettie

Now has the spring her treasures all unbound, The earth has put her wedding-garment on, And, robed in light, with flowers and verdure crowned, Comes forth in joy to meet the bridegroom sun.

Thou, too, in thy young life's first bloom and pride, Joyous as spring, fresh as the morning air, Fair as the flowers of May, comest forth a bride, And bowest thy head, Love's golden chain to wear.

Were mine the power, thy course of life should be            Serene and tranquil as the summer sky. No wintry blast should rudely visit thee, No tear of sorrow ever dim thine eye.

And when that hour should come, as come it must, And thy long summer day draw to its close, Filled with immortal hope and heavenly trust Thou like the sun shouldst sink to thy repose.

Vain wish, for cloudless skies, life without tears! A wiser, higher power controls thy fate. Sorrow and joy are each his ministers; And each alike on human footsteps wait.

Seek then his aid who was a man of grief, Who bore the cross and won a crown for thee, And thou shalt walk the troubled sea of life, As once he walked the Sea of Galilee.