_The Summons_

I think the leaf would sooner Be the first to break away, Than to hang alone in the orchard In the bleak November day. And I think the fate of the flower That falls in the midst of bloom Is sweeter than if it lingered To die in the autumn's gloom.

Some glowing, golden morning In the heart of the summer time, As I stand in the perfect vigor And strength of my youth's glad prime; When my heart is light and happy, And the world seems bright to me, I would like to drop from this earth-life, As a green leaf drops from the tree.

Someday, when the golden glory Of June is over the earth, And the birds are singing together In a wild, mad strain of mirth, When the skies are as clear and cloudless As the skies of June can be, I would like to have the summons Sent down from God to me.

I would not wait for the furrows-- For the faded eyes and hair; But pass out swift and sudden, Ere I grow heart-sick with care; I would break some morn in my singing-- Or fall in my springing walk, As a full-blown flower will sometimes Drop, all a-bloom, from the stalk.

And so, in my youth's glad morning, I would like to hear the summons, That must come, sometime, from God. I would pass from the earth's perfection To the endless June above; From the fullness of living and loving, To the noon of Immortal Love.

1873