Advice to girls
G. Peterkin
Trust not spring clouds, trust not to flowers:
The butterfly is caught;
Oh snatch no passing joy in hours
Of pleasure wrongly sought!
A mien severe and eyes that freeze
Become the future bride.
No whispering underneath the trees
Ere yet the knot be tied.
'Tis heaven on earth when woman wed
Leans on her husband's arm;
Beauty, like flowers, is quickly shed:
Oh, envy not its charm!