To seek the elected one.It lifts the boughs, whose shadows deep
Are Life's oblivion, the soul's sleep, And kisses the closed eyes
Of him, who slumbering lies.
30
O weary hearts! O slumbering eyes! O drooping souls, whose destinies Are fraught with fear and pain,
Ye shall be loved again!
No one is so accursed by fate, No one so utterly desolate,
But some heart, though unknown, Responds unto his own.
Responds,--as if with unseen wings, An angel touched its quivering strings;
And whispers, in its song,
"'Where hast thou stayed so long?" IT IS NOT ALWAYS MAY
No hay pajaros en los nidos de antano.
Spanish Proverb
The sun is bright,--the air is clear, The darting swallows soar and sing. And from the stately elms I hear
The bluebird prophesying Spring.
So blue you winding river flows,
It seems an outlet from the sky,
Where waiting till the west-wind blows, The freighted clouds at anchor lie.
All things are new;--the buds, the leaves, That gild the elm-tree's nodding crest, And even the nest beneath the eaves;-- There are no birds in last year's nest!
All things rejoice in youth and love,
The fulness of their first delight!
And learn from the soft heavens above
The melting tenderness of night. Maiden, that read'st this simple rhyme,
Enjoy thy youth, it will not stay; Enjoy the fragrance of thy prime,
For oh, it is not always May!
Enjoy the Spring of Love and Youth, To some good angel leave the rest;
For Time will teach thee soon the truth, There are no birds in last year's nest! THE RAINY DAY
The day is cold, and dark, and dreary
It rains, and the wind is never weary;
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall, But at every gust the dead leaves fall,
And the day is dark and dreary. My life is cold, and dark, and dreary; It rains, and the wind is never weary;
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past, But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast,
And the days are dark and dreary. Be still, sad heart! and cease repining; Behind the clouds is the sun still shining; Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall, Some days must be dark and dreary.
GOD'S-ACRE.
31
I like that ancient Saxon phrase, which calls
The burial-ground God's-Acre! It is just; It consecrates each grave within its walls,
And breathes a benison o'er the sleeping dust. God's-Acre! Yes, that blessed name imparts Comfort to those, who in the grave have sown The seed that they had garnered in their hearts, Their bread of life, alas! no more their own.
Into its furrows shall we all be cast,
In the sure faith, that we shall rise again
At the great harvest, when the archangel's blast Shall winnow, like a fan, the chaff and grain. Then shall the good stand in immortal bloom, In the fair gardens of that second birth;
And each bright blossom mingle its perfume
With that of flowers, which never bloomed on earth. With thy rude ploughshare, Death, turn up the sod, And spread the furrow for the seed we sow;
This is the field and Acre of our God,
This is the place where human harvests grow! TO THE RIVER CHARLES.
River! that in silence windest
Through the meadows, bright and free,
Till at length thy rest thou findest
In the bosom of the sea!
Four long years of mingled feeling, Half in rest, and half in strife,
I have seen thy waters stealing Onward, like the stream of life. Thou hast taught me, Silent River! Many a lesson, deep and long; Thou hast been a generous giver;
I can give thee but a song. Oft in sadness and in illness,
I have watched thy current glide, Till the beauty of its stillness Overflowed me, like a tide.
And in better hours and brighter, When I saw thy waters gleam,
I have felt my heart beat lighter, And leap onward with thy stream. Not for this alone I love thee,
Nor because thy waves of blue From celestial seas above thee Take their own celestial hue.
Where yon shadowy woodlands hide thee, And thy waters disappear,
Friends I love have dwelt beside thee, And have made thy margin dear.
More than this;--thy name reminds me
Of three friends, all true and tried; And that name, like magic, binds me Closer, closer to thy side.
Friends my soul with joy remembers! How like quivering flames they start, When I fan the living embers
32
On the hearthstone of my heart!
'T is for this, thou Silent River! That my spirit leans to thee;
Thou hast been a generous giver, Take this idle song from me. BLIND BARTIMEUS
Blind Bartimeus at the gates
Of Jericho in darkness waits;
He hears the crowd;--he hears a breath
Say, "It is Christ of Nazareth!" And calls, in tones of agony,
<Greek here>
The thronging multitudes increase; Blind Bartimeus, hold thy peace! But still, above the noisy crowd, The beggar's cry is shrill and loud; Until they say, "He calleth thee!"
<Greek here>
Then saith the Christ, as silent stands
The crowd, "What wilt thou at my hands?" And he replies, "O give me light!
Rabbi, restore
