 | Dartmoor, and other poems |  |
71
A MIDNIGHT REFLECTION.
A solemn silence fills the skies,
The clouds their deepest shades unfold;
On meditation let me rise,
And with my spirit commune hold.
The clouds their deepest shades unfold;
On meditation let me rise,
And with my spirit commune hold.
Am I a sojourner on earth,
Exposed to many a storm and strait;
Am I a pilgrim from my birth,
Fast passing to an endless state!
Exposed to many a storm and strait;
Am I a pilgrim from my birth,
Fast passing to an endless state!
Is there a God who deigns to dwell
With heirs of frailty here below!
And is there, too, a heaven, a hell,
Eternal worlds of joy or woe!
With heirs of frailty here below!
And is there, too, a heaven, a hell,
Eternal worlds of joy or woe!
Is life a tale, a flower of spring,
That withers, while it charms the sight;
Compared to every fleeting thing,
A cloud, a vision of the night!
That withers, while it charms the sight;
Compared to every fleeting thing,
A cloud, a vision of the night!
72
Do I this moment breathe the air,
And stable feel my house of clay;
Yet know that, from a world of care,
The next I may be call'd away!
And stable feel my house of clay;
Yet know that, from a world of care,
The next I may be call'd away!
Have I, till now, disdain'd the voice
Which mercy sends me from on high?
And made terrestrial things my choice,
That vanish with the evening sky!
Which mercy sends me from on high?
And made terrestrial things my choice,
That vanish with the evening sky!
Almighty Father! grant thine aid,
That I may from these dreams awake;
Till I have Christ my refuge made,
Oh spare me for thy mercy's sake!
That I may from these dreams awake;
Till I have Christ my refuge made,
Oh spare me for thy mercy's sake!
May I, the remnant of my days,
Devote to heaven, devote to Thee!
And join, at length, the song of praise
With thy Redeemed Family!
Devote to heaven, devote to Thee!
And join, at length, the song of praise
With thy Redeemed Family!
| Dartmoor, and other poems | |