I.

I will take your thoughts to my heart; 
I will keep and garner them there 
Locked in a casket apart. 
Far above rubies or rare 
Pearls from the prodigal deep, 
Which men stake their lives on to find, 
And women their beauty to keep, 
I will treasure the pearls of your mind. 

How long has it taken the earth 
To crystallize gems in a mine? 
How long was the sea giving birth 
To her pearls, washed in bitterest brine? 
What sorrows, what struggles, what fierce 
Endeavour of lives in the past, 
Hearts tempered by fire and tears, 
To fashion your manhood at last! 


II.

TAKE me to thy heart, and let me 
Rest my head a little while; 
Rest my heart from griefs that fret me 
In the mercy of thy smile. 

In a twilight pause of feeling, 
Time to say a moment's grace, 
Put thy hands, whose touch is healing, 
Put them gently on my face. 

Found too late in Life's wild welter, 
All I ask, for weal and woe, 
Friend, a moment's friendly shelter, 
And thy blessing ere I go. 


III.

FULL many loves and friendships dear 
Have blossomed brightly in my path; 
And some were like the primrose rathe, 
And withered with the vernal year. 

And some were like the joyous rose, 
Most prodigal with scent and hue, 
That glows while yet the sky is blue, 
And falls with every wind that blows-- 

Mere guests and annuals of the heart; 
But you are that perennial bay, 
Greenest when greener leaves decay, 
Whom only death shall bid depart.