Ballads of Peace in War

THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH

    (For Osceola and Pocahontas)

    Was it a hundred years ago,
    Or was it but yesterday,
    When we found the roads that grow
    Blossom and song of May?
    Maybe it was but yesterday,
    Or a hundred years ago.

    The roads from Bersabee to Dan
    Are old and quickly tire,
    But to the heart of child or man
    Youth is a fairy fire:
    Our youthful roads, they never tire
    From Bersabee to Dan.

    Ponce de Leon found no spring,
    But legend's long, long ruth;
    But the grace of God is a magic thing
    Abides with chivalrous youth:
    The grace of God that brings no ruth
    For them who find the spring.

    There is a land, there is a May
    Beyond the graveyard tree;
    Ten thousand years are like a day
    Of a youth that we shall see:
    Our young hearts pass the graveyard tree
    To a land forever in May.