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
Has no end and no beginning--
    Just the beauty of the dell,
Just the wind-flowers and the lilies
   Yellow-striped as adder's tongue,
Seem to satisfy my pathway
   As it winds their scents 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!


This poem is in the public domain.