[From _Poems of the South and Other Verse_ (Chicago, 1911)]
In the evening of a lifetime
While the shadows, growing long,
Fall eastward, and the gloaming
Brings the spell of vesper song,
Fond memory turns backward
To the bright light of the day,
Where joys, like troops of fairies,
Gaily dance along the way,
Full-armed with mirth and music,
Driving skirmishers of care
Howling, back into the forest,
And their dark, uncanny lair.
So the pastures of Kentucky,
And the fields of Tennessee,
The bloom of all the Southland
And the old-time melody;
The vales, and streams, and mountains;
The bay of trailing hounds;
The neigh of blooded horses
And the farm-yard's cheery sounds;
The smiles of wholesome women
And the hail of hearty men,
Come sweeping back, in fancy,
And, behold, I'm young again.