 | Poems by Frances Sargent Osgood |  |
237
THE LIFE-BOAT.
The thunder spirits sound on highThe storm's wild tocsin, loud and deep;
And winds and waves, with maddening cry,
Fierce at the summons leap.
Flashes through heaven the lightning's wing;
The blinding rains now swiftly pour;
And the noble ship, a helpless thing,
Lies tossing toward the shore!
Now shriek the crew, “In mercy save!”
And rushing headlong to her side,
They launch the life-boat on the wave,
And tempt the fearful tide.
And there is One above the storm,
Who smiles upon that shallop light,
And sends an angel's viewless form
To guide the bark aright!
Boy! in the storms that shake the soul,
Quail not! there's still a life-boat nigh;
In which the angel Faith's control
May Grief's wild waves defy.
| Poems by Frances Sargent Osgood | |