What is more fleeting than a wing beat
Of a hummingbird? Ephemeral, sweet,
Shattering the summer air as if to be
Some divine messenger of wintry nights,
Frost-glittering, and yearning softly
To reclaim yon warm meadow as their fated right,
To chill this honeyed air with snow,
To dull the summer’s contented glow -
This we know, that summer soon shall fade
And yet, still be remembered, though it bade
A gentle farewell, and swiftly fade
From this sultry, amber-lit glade
Into the hearts of the slumberous few,
Hid in idle fancy ’til the last snowflake falls,
When, at last, sweet spring renews
Its reign ’til the last autumn leaf will fall.