Effie D. Threet, "Childhood's Days" (1903)
That doth brighten every life,
Oh! how precious is their mem❜ry
In the after years of strife.
Childhood paints the sky with wonders;
Fills the air with myriads bright;
Finds perfume in ev'ry flower;
Deems the earth a world of light.
Childhood sees not earth's rough places,
But its paths are filled with flowers,
In the cloud it sees the rainbow
And forgets the time of showers.
In its realm it knows no falsehood,
On the face sees but the smile,
Innocence is its companion,
Fancy doth its hours beguile.
Memory, keep within thy casket,
These fair scenes of childhood bright,
And in hours of gloom and sadness,
Bring these visions to my sight.
Like the brilliant hues of sunlight
Doth the clouds with silver line;
So through cares and disappointments
These fair visions will entwine!
Published in Colored American Magazine, May 1903