Snow-Flakes

Are the snow-flakes pearly flowers
That in the skies have birth,
And gently fall in gleaming showers
Upon this barren earth?

Or, are they fleecy locks of wool,
From sheep that wander by
The silver streams, that, singing, roll
Through valleys in the sky?

Or, are they downy feathers, cast
By little birds above,
And hurried earthward by the blast,
Bright messengers of love?

No, they are pearly blossoms, flung
  From heaven’s airy bowers,
To recompense us for the loss
  Of summer’s blooming flowers.
          Mattie Bell.