free-verse24 lines
The Ivy on the Wall
by Henry KendallThe verdant ivy clings around
Yon moss be-mantled wall,
As if it sought to hide the stones,
That crumbling soon must fall:
That relic of a bygone age
Now tottering to decay,
Has but one friend the ivy left.
The rest have passed away.
The fairy flowers that once did bloom
And smile beneath its shade;
They lingered till the autumn came,
And autumn saw them fade:
The emerald leaves that blushed between
The winds away have blown;
But yet to cheer the mournful scene,
The ivy liveth on.
Thus heavenly hope will still survive,
When earthly joys have fled;
And all the flow'ry dreams of youth
Lie withering and dead.
When Winter comes it twines itself
Around the human heart;
And like the ivy on the wall
Will ne'er from thence depart.