 | The poems and prose writings of Sumner Lincoln Fairfield |  |
219
GRAVE WATCHING.
Bring flowers and strew them here,
The loveliest of the year,
Withered, yet fragrant as her virgin fame,
Who slumbers in this sunny spot,
Yet to Love's voice awaketh not,
Nor hears in dreams her lover sigh her name.
The loveliest of the year,
Withered, yet fragrant as her virgin fame,
Who slumbers in this sunny spot,
Yet to Love's voice awaketh not,
Nor hears in dreams her lover sigh her name.
Where woods o'er waters wave
She hath her early grave,
And summer breathes lone music o'er the scene;
It is a green and bloomy place,
And smiling like her living face,
Whom memory weeps o'er, sighing “She hath been!”
She hath her early grave,
And summer breathes lone music o'er the scene;
It is a green and bloomy place,
And smiling like her living face,
Whom memory weeps o'er, sighing “She hath been!”
How sacred silence lies
With dreamy heart-filled eyes,
Shedding its spirit o'er the wanderer's heart,
Beside the mound of dust,
Where, throned, sit hope and trust,
Serenely watching awful death depart.
With dreamy heart-filled eyes,
Shedding its spirit o'er the wanderer's heart,
Beside the mound of dust,
Where, throned, sit hope and trust,
Serenely watching awful death depart.
In sooth, 't were bliss to rest
On nature's rosy breast
'Mid all this sweetness, quiet, faith, and love,
While heaven's soft airs flit round
The still and hallowed ground,
And the blue skies lift the pure soul above.
On nature's rosy breast
'Mid all this sweetness, quiet, faith, and love,
While heaven's soft airs flit round
The still and hallowed ground,
And the blue skies lift the pure soul above.
Albeit, I can but grieve
That thou, pale girl! didst leave
Thy lover lone in such a world as this,
Yet tender is my heart's regret
As the last beam of suns that set
To rise again, like thee, my love! in bliss.
That thou, pale girl! didst leave
Thy lover lone in such a world as this,
Yet tender is my heart's regret
As the last beam of suns that set
To rise again, like thee, my love! in bliss.
220
Then let me linger here,
Where none of earth appear,
Save gentle spirits, kindred of the skies,
And muse beside the gushing spring,
Where wild birds carol on the wing,
And live as thou didst, love! on harmonies.
Where none of earth appear,
Save gentle spirits, kindred of the skies,
And muse beside the gushing spring,
Where wild birds carol on the wing,
And live as thou didst, love! on harmonies.
O'er this green bank of flowers
Hover the dew-eyed hours,
Blending the incense breath of earth and heaven,
As thou didst hallow time
By thoughts and deeds sublime,
And seal eternal bliss by wrongs forgiven.
Hover the dew-eyed hours,
Blending the incense breath of earth and heaven,
As thou didst hallow time
By thoughts and deeds sublime,
And seal eternal bliss by wrongs forgiven.
Inspire me with thy soul,
And, while the seasons roll,
No evil passion shall corrode my spirit!
I can forgive my fiercest foes,
And think not o'er inflicted woes,
While I thy gentle soul, lost love! inherit.
And, while the seasons roll,
No evil passion shall corrode my spirit!
I can forgive my fiercest foes,
And think not o'er inflicted woes,
While I thy gentle soul, lost love! inherit.
What holy joy attends
Such commerce with lost friends,
Lost to our eyes but living in our minds!
Their memories breathe elysian bliss
Around e'en such a world as this,
Like Yemen's odours borne on genial winds.
Such commerce with lost friends,
Lost to our eyes but living in our minds!
Their memories breathe elysian bliss
Around e'en such a world as this,
Like Yemen's odours borne on genial winds.
Bring flowers and strew them here,
The loveliest of the year,
And I will watch their spirits as they part;
For in a place so green and still,
'Mid wood and water, vale and hill,
My lost love dwells forever in my heart!
The loveliest of the year,
And I will watch their spirits as they part;
For in a place so green and still,
'Mid wood and water, vale and hill,
My lost love dwells forever in my heart!
| The poems and prose writings of Sumner Lincoln Fairfield | |