The boys were blowing bubbles,
Bright red, and green, and blue,
And every changing color
That ever mortal knew.
They floated in the window,
And glided past my chair,
But in a moment perished,
And faded in the air.
The boys, with shouts and laughter,
Blew till quite out of breath,
While high in the leafy maple
The bubbles gleamed till death.
Too much like earthly pleasure
Seemed the bubbles, bright and gay;
They charm a fleeting moment,
Then vanish, away—away.
Sweet love’s ecstatic potion
Our spirits long to sip,
But Death may dash the nectar
From the unsullied lip.
And he who quaffs the longest,
Whose heart divinely glows,
Finds clouds will gather round him,
For earthly joys must close.
Some grasp at wealth’s bright beacon,
And follow where it leads—
Sometimes to fairest honor,
Sometimes to foulest deeds
And often proves a bubble,
A floating thing of air—
Eludes the weary victim,
And leaves him starving there.
If love’s so frail a treasure,
And wealth may fade away;
If earthly joys are changing,
And fame lives but a day;
Then where are shining jewels
That will not break at last,
And leave us, eager viewers,
All mourning for the past?
High in the holy heavens,
A pearl of price untold
Shines brighter far than rubies,
More precious than fine gold.
It can not fade or perish,
Can never pass away;
It is a hope in Jesus,
A trust in God alway!
M. A. L.