Poems (Edwards)/A Sister's Love

A SISTER'S LOVE.

There is a joy that gladdens life,
A balm that soothes its vexing strife;
A light that gilds our cloudiest way,
That turns our darkness into day,
That gives a fragrance to the hours,
Sweet as the breath of summer flowers
That gladdens us where'er we move—
It is, it is, a sister's love.

The friendship of the world departs
And leaves strange shadows on our hearts,
Dark ghosts that whisper of the past,
That tell of vows that could not last,
Of friendship's bright, yet broken chain,
Of hearts that cannot love again;
But none, aye, none of those we prove
In this sweet boon, a sister's love.

A sister's love! O! every thought
Is with this pure affection wrought,
The whispering winds, the waving limbs,
The night-bird warbling forth his hymns,
The distant sound of purling rills,
The guardian spirit of the hills,
All bring to me where'er I rove,
The memory of a sister's love.

A sister's love! it gladdens life,
It is a balm for pain and strife,
A lamp to gild the clouds that lie
So often on our wintry sky,
A flower, whose fragrant breath imparts
A holy gladness to our hearts,
A boon of beauty from above,
Is this sweet gift—a sister's love.