 | Sonnets by the Rev. Charles Turner [i.e. Charles Tennyson] |  |
23
AN INCIDENT IN A CHURCH.
As one whose eyes, by gleam of waters caught,
Should find them strewn with pansies, so to me
It chanced that morning, as I bowed the knee,
Soliciting th' approach of hallowed thought;
I dreamed not that so dear a tomb was nigh;
My sidelong glance the lucid marble drew,
And, turning round about enquiringly,
I found it letter'd with the names I knew;
Three precious names I knew, and lov'd withal,
Yea, knew and lov'd, albeit too briefly known—
Louisa, Henry, and the boy just grown
To boyhood's prime, as each receiv'd the call;
And, over all, carv'd in the same white stone,
The symbol of the holiest death of all.
Should find them strewn with pansies, so to me
It chanced that morning, as I bowed the knee,
Soliciting th' approach of hallowed thought;
I dreamed not that so dear a tomb was nigh;
My sidelong glance the lucid marble drew,
And, turning round about enquiringly,
I found it letter'd with the names I knew;
Three precious names I knew, and lov'd withal,
Yea, knew and lov'd, albeit too briefly known—
Louisa, Henry, and the boy just grown
To boyhood's prime, as each receiv'd the call;
And, over all, carv'd in the same white stone,
The symbol of the holiest death of all.
24
TO THE SURVIVORS.
Henceforth to you this monument shall beA bright and constant presence: evermore
Your thoughts of death must pass by this white door,
Till ye yourselves shall meet Eternity;
This vestal tablet written o'er with love,
From morn to eve your inner eye shall read,
And even in midnight darkness ye shall prove
What heavenward hopes its snowy gleam can feed;
Yes, ever in your hearts' clear depths shall lie
This fair tomb-shadow, when no ripple moves;
And, when fresh rous'd to earthly sympathy,
Come floating softly o'er your living loves:
While I, not robbing you, may keep my share
Of that pure light which stole across my prayer.
| Sonnets by the Rev. Charles Turner [i.e. Charles Tennyson] | |