Page:The Vow of the Peacock.pdf/206

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And sought in Marion's deep blue eyes his world,— Loved with the truth, the fervour of first love, That delicate bloom which can come o'er the soul But only once. All other thoughts and feelings The heart may know again, but first love never! Its hopes, bright as the azure flower that springs Where'er the radiance of the rainbow falls; Its fears, soft as the leaves that shade the lily; Its fairy-land romance, its tenderness, Its timid, and yet passionate devotion— These are not annual blooms, that die, then rise Again into another summer world. They may live long, and be the life of life, But, like the rose, when they are once destroyed They perish utterly. And, like that tree, How sweet a memory, too, remains! though dead