Kitabı oku: «Home Poems», sayfa 5

HAPPINESS-KILLERS

 
We are crossing little bridges
That we never reach at all;
We are climbing mighty mountains
That are not upon our way;
We are looking for a twilight
While the morning sunbeams fall,
And the troubled thoughts of future
Take the gladness from to-day.
 
 
We are losing Nature’s glories,
Which are meant for us to see;
We are finding weeds and grasses
Where the pretty flowers grow;
We are looking for the storm clouds
Which perchance may never be,
And we quite forget the sunshine
Which to-day is ours below.
 
 
We are filling life’s brief season
Full of worry and regret,
And the thoughts of past and future
Rob the present of its best;
And the happiness of others
We perchance do oft forget.
Past regret and future worry
Banish peace and conquer rest.
 
 
Life is ours! The day is passing,
And the Present is our all;
Past has gone, and future cometh
In the moments one by one.
If to-day we do our duty,
Love the Saviour, hear His call,
Earth will bless and Heaven receive us,
And His words will be: “Well done.”
 

RECOMPENSE

 
Not he who sins, but he who does God’s will
Finds, in life’s cup, some added sorrows still;
Not he who soars to heights of rank and fame,
But he who climbs, is he who bears Christ’s name;
Not he who wins, but he who daily tries
Shall best deserve the joys of Paradise.
 

WHY?

 
Why do I love thee and how do I know
That thou art the dearest of all to me?
Why do the moments, wherever I go,
Seem brighter and better because of thee?
 
 
Why, mid the work of the long, weary day,
Are burdens of life more easy to bear?
Why pause I so often, upon life’s way,
To ask God’s blessing for thee in prayer?
 
 
Why does my soul, once so tempted and sad,
Awaken to thoughts both noble and pure?
Why does the loving thee make my heart glad,—
God seem the nearer and Heaven the more sure?
 
 
Why, in my dreaming, thy voice do I hear,
Thy face do I see, and feel thy caress?
Why, dreaming or waking, seemeth thou near,
To soothe, to comfort, to help and to bless?
 
 
I pass others by, in the crowded street,
Whose faces, it may be, are fair as thine,
Yet thine, thine only, to me is most sweet,—
Thou only canst waken this love of mine.
 
 
Another’s low word and sweet, winning smile,
Tho’ sought by many, when given to me
I dare to confess can charm for awhile,
But love meaneth more and I love but thee.
 
 
I hear other voices, see other smiles,
But hearing and seeing bringeth unrest;
Laughter and music the evening beguiles,—
Thy voice and thy smile for me are the best.
 
 
Why do I love thee? Ask God why he gave
To thee, and thee only, that power divine
My heart to touch and my soul to save,
And then I can answer why thou art mine.
 
 
Why do I love thee? Ask God to reveal
Why He hath made thee so unlike the rest;—
True and unselfish, perchance thou mayest feel
That I have good reason for loving thee best.
 
 
Art thou the dearest one? Love can but show
That thou art the dearest, ideal of mine;
Knowing, I love thee; and loving, I know;
To know and to love are the gifts divine.
 

CLASS ODE,—1885

 
We sail far out to sunset’s light beyond,
On Life’s most restless and most fitful deep;
Where tempests rage and storms do oft abound,
And waves and billows care not long to sleep.
In Ocean’s lap most priceless pearls we’ve found,
And gathered them as onward we have passed;
We deemed the work but pleasure and reward,
Rare treasures that in years to come would last.
 
 
Life’s dark blue waters cannot be recrossed
O’er which we passed so joyfully each day;
For youth and pleasure can not always last,
And Duty bids us hasten on our way.
We know that here our voyage together ends
And each alone must earn his own reward;
But through the storms and sunny days alike
We shall be guided by the hand of God.
 
 
To-day we all must bid a fond farewell;
We know henceforth our lives apart must be,
Until we cross the deep that lies before,
To be no longer tossed on life’s rough sea.
And when beyond the ever-changing waves
We anchor on that shining Heavenly shore,
May we, who linger now to say: “Farewell,”
United stand to part again no more.
 

TWO SIDES

 
The clouds that float above
Each have two separate sides,—
One toward the earth below,
The other toward the sun;
And when we see our lives,
Which God in goodness guides,
Upon the darker side
He sees the brighter one.
 
 
Some day we shall behold
The side that He can see,
And we shall praise His name
For blessings that are ours;
Till clouds shall all disperse,
And life shall grander be,—
Refreshed like mother earth
When sunshine follows showers.
 

THE CHANGING CURRENT

 
A river runs upon its way
Thro’ fertile fields and meadows gay;—
Among the sweetly-scented bowers,
And where the sunlight soothes the flowers.
It dances merrily along
And sings sweet Solitude a song;
But ere it meets the distant shore,
Its current changes more and more;
The stones that in its course now lie
It must rush over or pass by;
And while it meets them one by one
Dark clouds obscure the shining sun;
The sparkling waters lose their charm,
No more to frolic free from harm;
For threatening storm has come at last,—
The river rushes madly past
Thro’ cities and thro’ distant towns,
As tho’ it would escape its bounds;
But storm will cease and mists will clear
Till hidden sun shall reappear,
And that same river, calm and free,
Shall flow in fullness to the sea.
Thus runs the current of my life
Thro’ sun and shade, in calm and strife;
At first among the flowers gay
It sparkles freely on its way;
But while it sings its happy song,
And glides so peacefully along,
The obstacles and clouds appear
To hinder and deprive of cheer.
When all the barriers have been passed,
And threatening storms have ceased at last,
My life, more full, and calm, and free,
Shall end it’s course beyond the Sea.
 

SLEEP

 
When sunset light has faded from our sight,
And darkness comes to tell us of the night,
We sleep, refreshed from earthly care and sorrow,
To waken to another hopeful morrow.
 
 
When sun and stars shall no more please our sight,
And darkness comes to tell us of the night,
We sleep, unmindful of earth’s joy and sorrow,
To waken to a never-ending morrow.
 

LIFE’S DAY

 
When the morn has breathed her story,
And the noon of life is past,
When the sunset’s deepening glory
Fills the waiting soul at last;
 
 
Then, like sweetest music falling
Thro’ the splendors of the West,
We shall hear the angels calling
To a blest, eternal rest.
 
 
When the day in silence sleeping,
Shows that earthly light has fled,
When the heart has ceased it’s weeping
And the final prayer is said;
 
 
Then beyond life’s great endeavor,
In the stillness of the night,
We shall wake to live forever
And shall know God’s plans are right.
 

A POET

 
A poet took in hand his mighty pen
To move the hearts of lyric-loving men.
He wrote of prayer, not knowing how to pray;
He wrote of Heaven, not having found the way;
He wrote of fame, not having reached the goal
Where fame’s great treasure thrills the seeking soul;
He wrote of Art, and then of Nature sweet,
While Nature’s flowers were crushed beneath his feet;
He wrote of life, and human love below,
The power of which he did not, could not know.
At last, grown weary of his every theme,
A thought aroused him from his restless dream;
He seized his pen,—the inspiration grew
To tell of things he really felt and knew:
He wrote of “mother” and his “childhood days;”
Then high and low began to sing his praise.
 

THANKSGIVING

 
Not because Thou givest me
Life from care and sorrow free
Do I thank Thee, Lord, to-day;
But because in life’s dark hour,
Thou hast given peace and power
To sustain me on the way.
 
 
Not for gift of wealth or fame
Do I praise Thy kingly name
Kneeling now with grateful heart;
But for home, for friends, and health,—
Greater gifts than fame or wealth,
Blessings of my life a part.
 
 
Not because the earth is bright
With a wealth of joy and light
Do I thank Thee, Lord Divine;
But because in Home above
Life eternal speaks Thy love
And the hope of Heaven is mine.
 

MUSINGS

 
Upon the shining sands a man once strolled;
And, looking out across the silvery sea,
He saw the waste of waters, blue and cold,
Where restless waves were climbing high and free.
 
 
He paused awhile to watch the changing tide;
But, tiring of the noise and sunlight’s glare,
He sought a hidden path, and turned aside,
Where sweet wild roses scent the balmy air.
 
 
Then, growing weary as the morning passed,
He filled his hands with blossoms that he found,
And threw himself beneath an oak at last,
Whose brawny branches brushed the grassy ground.
 
 
He bared his head; and lying ’neath the tree,
Arranging wealth of roses in his hands,
He thought that, ’bove the branches, he could see
The same blue ocean rolling to the sands.
 
 
His mind to rose thoughts turned in dreamy way,—
From untrained blossoms, blooming in the bowers,
Whose simple petals fade within a day,
Have been developed grander, sweeter flowers.
 
 
The jacqueminot and all her sisters fair,
Now clothed in colors bright and staying late,
Because of culture and a proper care
Have found a place within the garden gate.
 
 
So too with life; the untrained children we
Whose innocence shall fade within the hours,—
With thoughts, like petals, simple, pure, and free,—
And minds to be developed like the flowers.
 
 
If rightly clothed, according to God’s plan,
We soon discover, ere it is too late,
That cultivation makes the grander man
Who finds a place within the Heavenly gate.
 
 
The dreamer woke; his roses, once so bright,
Had drooped and faded in the heat of day;
His rose thoughts had unfolded to the light
To bless and help him all along life’s way.
 

SEEKING AND STRIVING

 
The soul that seeks for Heavenly things,
And mounts above on tireless wings,
Shall find them by and by;
The soul that strives to conquer wrong,
And sings a happy trustful song,
Shall live and never die.
 

SOME DAY

 
Some day, not far away,
In Heaven above,
Both you and I,
Who say the last good-bye,
Shall meet and love.
 
 
Some day, beyond life’s way
Of cares and tears,
Your soul and mine,
With Christ, the Soul divine,
Shall know no fears.
 
 
Some day, when others pray
With tear-stained eyes,
You’ll take my hand
And we shall understand
In Paradise.
 
 
Some day, when others stay
To do life’s part,
We’ll reach the goal
Each standing soul to soul,—
Not heart to heart.
 
 
Some day, when others say:—
“Their lot was sad,”
We’ll know the why;
In Heaven both you and I
Shall be more glad.
 
 
Some day, when earth is gay
On land and sea,
Beyond life’s shore
We two, who patience bore,
Shall thankful be.
 
 
Some day,—some brighter day
Than all the rest,
Both you and I
Shall say no more: “Good-bye,”
But:—“God knows best.”
 

THE AWAKENING

 
When Earth is waking from her winter dream,
And Sunlight calls to life each sleeping stream;
When songsters shall return on joyful wings,
’Tis then the mind awakes to grander things.
Faith in our God becomes a mighty power,—
Deep rooted in the soul it grows each hour.
Hope springs to life and, like the budding rose,
Admits the light, and thus diviner grows.
Sweet Charity, the greatest of the three,
Unlocks the dormant heart with magic key,—
Then enters Joy, the ever welcomed guest,
To quiet Sorrow, and to bid her rest.
The waking Earth demands the watchful eye,
While day by day new glories round her lie.
No longer shall we sleep away the hours,
But wake to life as wake the budding flowers,—
Breathing to others, in our life’s brief day,
Fragrance and beauty as they pass our way.
No longer shall we wait for better days,
But, like the bird, sing forth His endless praise,
And in the hour new hope and pleasure bring
To those who listen but care not to sing.
No longer shall we rest and vainly dream,
But wake as wakes again the living stream,
Ever to broaden as we onward go,
Bearing to thirsting souls the joys we know.