OHIO; A LEGEND.
D. TOD GILLIAM.
An Aviator sailing through the skies,
'Tis said, in quest of Paradise,
Checked suddenly his rapid flight,
And gazed in rapture at the sight,
That burst upon his startled eyes,
And held him speechless in surprise.
Quoth he, at length, his sense regained,
"My long sought purpose is
attained,
If Paradise exist below,
This surely must be it I know;
'Tis Paradise or Ohio."
"I've sailed the skies of every
clime,
I've seen the beautiful, sublime,
But never in my wanderings wide,
O'er solid earth or ocean's tide,
Has such a realm of mortal bliss,
Filled sense and soul replete like this.
'Tis one or t'other - that I know,
'Tis Paradise or Ohio."
"There's naught in space to block
the view,
'Twixt green-clad earth and heaven's
blue,
Save fleecy, flowing wraith-like
shrouds,
Of erstwhile tumbling summer clouds.
Mellow light, the perfumed air,
Birds of plume, flowers rare,
Birds of song with swelling throat,
Pulsing lays of sweetest note,
Crystal streams, the singing brook,
Sunlit plains, the shaded nook,
Verdant hills, the fleecy flock,
Bubbling springs, the mossy rock,
From all I've heard and seen I know,
'Tis Paradise or Ohio."
Columbus, Ohio.
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