 | Carmina crucis |  |
18
NOVEMBER.
Poor heart of mine, dost mourn
To see the rose-leaves shed
Fall on their earthy bed?
To see the day outworn
Fade out into the dead
Chill eve so soon? dost mourn
Above the wither'd leaf, the blighted corn?”
To see the rose-leaves shed
Fall on their earthy bed?
To see the day outworn
Fade out into the dead
Chill eve so soon? dost mourn
Above the wither'd leaf, the blighted corn?”
“I mourn not for the sped
Swift daylight in its close,
I mourn not for the fled
Fair spirit of the rose,
That pass'd not till it fed
With fragrance all the air
Of June; a sweeter care
Was mine than buds in thickest green enclose,
A dearer hope than lives in aught that dies and blows.”
“I mourn not for a trust
Misplaced, a broken troth;
Life healeth life that even from the dust
Will stir and bloom; I mourn
A sweeter hope withdrawn,
I miss the sealing of a firmer oath.”
Swift daylight in its close,
I mourn not for the fled
Fair spirit of the rose,
That pass'd not till it fed
With fragrance all the air
Of June; a sweeter care
Was mine than buds in thickest green enclose,
A dearer hope than lives in aught that dies and blows.”
19
Misplaced, a broken troth;
Life healeth life that even from the dust
Will stir and bloom; I mourn
A sweeter hope withdrawn,
I miss the sealing of a firmer oath.”
“Who can endure this frost?
Who can endure this cold?
The harvest's blighted gold?
The buried seed-corn lost?
A time of sweeping rains, of bitter grief,
The dews are thick on earth and light the fallen leaf.”
Who can endure this cold?
The harvest's blighted gold?
The buried seed-corn lost?
A time of sweeping rains, of bitter grief,
The dews are thick on earth and light the fallen leaf.”
“And didst thou think through prayer
To pierce this heavy air?
Through patience to unwind
The cere-cloths of the mind?
Through love to breathe away
The grave-damps of decay,
Through love, through faith, through prayer,
Didst hope upon some fair,
Fond, future day to find
Earth purer, Heaven more kind?
Behold! the heavens are strong, the earth is old,
And all that comes between is dim and cold.
To pierce this heavy air?
Through patience to unwind
The cere-cloths of the mind?
Through love to breathe away
The grave-damps of decay,
Through love, through faith, through prayer,
Didst hope upon some fair,
Fond, future day to find
Earth purer, Heaven more kind?
20
And all that comes between is dim and cold.
“A fall of wither'd leaves,
The voice of one that grieves,
That grieves nor yet prevails—
For prayer that makes with Hope
A covenant, yet fails
For ever of its scope;
For Faith's lone lamp that pales,
Still raised above the dark
Lone wat'ry waste; for Love that finds no ark,
But still with patient breast
Broods on until its nest
Is fill'd with wint'ry flakes of cold despair;
For Christ that still delayeth;
For Life that still gainsayeth
The spirit's trust; for dark despair that sayeth,
‘Where is the promise of His coming? where
The answer to thy prayer?’
Behold, the heavens are strong, all things remain
As they have been at first, and hope is vain.”
“A time of sweeping rains, of bitter grief,
The dews lie thick on earth, and red the blighted leaf.”
The voice of one that grieves,
That grieves nor yet prevails—
For prayer that makes with Hope
A covenant, yet fails
For ever of its scope;
For Faith's lone lamp that pales,
Still raised above the dark
Lone wat'ry waste; for Love that finds no ark,
But still with patient breast
Broods on until its nest
Is fill'd with wint'ry flakes of cold despair;
For Christ that still delayeth;
For Life that still gainsayeth
The spirit's trust; for dark despair that sayeth,
‘Where is the promise of His coming? where
The answer to thy prayer?’
Behold, the heavens are strong, all things remain
As they have been at first, and hope is vain.”
“A time of sweeping rains, of bitter grief,
The dews lie thick on earth, and red the blighted leaf.”
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