Cherry Ripe, by John Everett Millais

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CHILDREN
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Come to me, O ye children,
For I hear you at your play,
And the questions that perplexed me
Have vanished quite away.

Ye open the eastern windows,
That look towards the sun,
Where thoughts are singing swallows
And the brooks of morning run.

In your hearts are the birds and the sunshine,
In your thoughts the brooklet's flow,
But in mine is the wind of Autumn
And the first fall of the snow.

Ah! what would the world be to us
If the children were no more?
We should dread the desert behind us
Worse than the dark before.

What the leaves are to the forest,
With light and air for food,
Ere their sweet and tender juices
Have been hardened into wood,

That to the world are children;
Through them it feels the glow
Of a brighter and sunnier climate
Than reaches the trunks below.

Come to me, O ye children,
And whisper in my ear
What the birds and the winds are singing
In your sunny atmosphere.

For what are all our contrivings,
And the wisdom of our books,
When compared with your caresses,
And the gladness of your looks?

Ye are better than all the ballads
That ever were sung or said,
For ye are living poems,
And all the rest are dead.

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Bubbles, by John Everett Millais

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Last week's post was the one hundredth to John's Quiet Corner and today's post brings the series to an end.
Perhaps regular followers of Quiet Corner will find things of interest in some of my other blogs.

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The Garden at Bayou Bend, Houston, Texas

If it's drama that you sigh for, plant a garden and you'll get it.
You will know the thrill of battle, fighting foes that will beset it.
If you long for entertainment and for pageantry most glowing,
Plant a garden and this summer spend your time with green things growing. (Edward A. Guest)

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What is so sweet and dear
As a prosperous morn in May,
The confident prime of the day,
And the dauntless youth of the year,
When nothing that asks for bliss,
Asking aright, is denied,
And half of the world a bridegroom is,
And half of the world a bride? (William Watson)

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The Garden at Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna

The world's favourite season is the spring.
All things seem possible in May. (Edwin Way Teale)

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'Tis like the birthday of the world,
When earth was born in bloom;
The light is made of many dyes,
The air is all perfume:
There's crimson buds, and white and blue,
The very rainbow showers
Have turned to blossoms where they fell,
And sown the earth with flowers. (Thomas Hood)

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The Japanese Garden at the Devonian Botanical Gardens, Edmonton, Alberta

Be like a flower and turn your face to the sun. (Kahlil Gibran)

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Thanks to "Public Domain Photos and Images" for the photographs
http://public-domain-images.blogspot.com

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Now online "Let's Hear That Song Again!" - http://letshearthatsongagain.blogspot.com
and starting on Wednesday
"That Was Another Good Read!" (Great Moments from Classic Fiction) http://thatwasanothergoodread.blogspot.com