 | Robin Hood |  |
210
TO A CENTAGENARIAN ON HER HUNDREDTH BIRTHDAY.
Aged handmaid of the Lord,
Humbly waiting on his word;
Peace be with thee!—Peace and love
On Earth beneath—In Heaven above.
Humbly waiting on his word;
Peace be with thee!—Peace and love
On Earth beneath—In Heaven above.
Thou between two worlds dost stand:
Long so near the better land,
That from thence a wandering ray
Seems about thy brow to play;
Long so near the better land,
That from thence a wandering ray
Seems about thy brow to play;
That, on Life's extremest shore,
From the rough road travelled o'er,
Calmly resting, thou may'st cry
“Now is my salvation nigh.”
From the rough road travelled o'er,
Calmly resting, thou may'st cry
“Now is my salvation nigh.”
Pilgrim of an hundred years!
Loosened from life's hopes and fears,
What hast thou to do but wait
(Almost there) at Heaven's gate?
Loosened from life's hopes and fears,
211
(Almost there) at Heaven's gate?
All the little space between
Pleasant still, and fresh and green;
So the greenness of the heart
Lives in thee,—youth's better part.
Pleasant still, and fresh and green;
So the greenness of the heart
Lives in thee,—youth's better part.
Types and tidings of good cheer
Comfort thee throughout the year;
From thy Bible's countless store
To the spring-flowers at thy door.
Comfort thee throughout the year;
From thy Bible's countless store
To the spring-flowers at thy door.
Bursting from their wintry tomb,
There again those bright ones bloom;
Pass a few short seasons o'er
Of life and death, to wake no more.
There again those bright ones bloom;
Pass a few short seasons o'er
Of life and death, to wake no more.
But when Earth gives up her trust
—Aye, every grain of human dust—
Far other wakening thine shall be,
Death swallowed up in Victory.
—Aye, every grain of human dust—
Far other wakening thine shall be,
Death swallowed up in Victory.
| Robin Hood | |