The Path That Leads To Nowhere

There's a path that leads to Nowhere In a meadow that I know, Where an inland island rises And the stream is still and slow; There it wanders under willows And beneath the silver green Of the birches' silent shadows Where the early violets lean. Other pathways lead to Somewhere, But the one I love so well Had no end and no beginning -- Just the beauty of the dell, Just the windflowers and the lilies Yellow striped as adder's tongue, Seem to satisfy my pathway As it winds their sweets among. There I go to meet the Springtime, When the meadow is aglow, Marigolds amid the marshes, -- And the stream is still and slow. -- There I find my fair oasis, And with care-free feet I tread For the pathway leads to Nowhere, And the blue is overhead! All the ways that lead to Somewhere Echo with the hurrying feet Of the Struggling and the Striving, But the way I find so sweet Bids me dream and bids me linger, Joy and Beauty are its goal, -- On the path that leads to Nowhere I have sometimes found my soul!