 | Verses from The island book |  |
196
ANNIE.
O never again may the old beechen tree
And the fresh morning air sing softly to thee;
No more shall the spring,
With its young opening flower,
Or bird on the wing,
Revisit thy bower,
Or welcome thy coming, to whisper to thee
Sweet visions, while sitting beneath the old tree.
And the fresh morning air sing softly to thee;
No more shall the spring,
With its young opening flower,
Or bird on the wing,
Revisit thy bower,
Or welcome thy coming, to whisper to thee
Sweet visions, while sitting beneath the old tree.
The winter is past, and flower, leaf, and bird
Invite thee once more, but the call is not heard.
The ear that so long
Was charmed by their song
Is now a rapt listener, where angel choirs
In praise and thanksgiving are tuning their lyres.
Invite thee once more, but the call is not heard.
The ear that so long
Was charmed by their song
Is now a rapt listener, where angel choirs
In praise and thanksgiving are tuning their lyres.
Thy step on the hill-side, brushing the dew,
Oft sought where the earliest wild flowers grew;
Or amid the wild war
Of waves on the shore,
As lashed by the storm,
They were tossed in foam,
Their deep diapason was music to thee:
It spake to thy soul of the voice of the free.
Oft sought where the earliest wild flowers grew;
197
Of waves on the shore,
As lashed by the storm,
They were tossed in foam,
Their deep diapason was music to thee:
It spake to thy soul of the voice of the free.
And the bounding pulse of thy heart kept time
To the clarion note of its swelling chime;
When the winds were hushed,
And the calm sea flushed
With the roseate tints of a summer sky,
The quiet beauty that greeted thine eye
Sunk deep in the soul,
While the tear that stole
Down thy thoughtful face
Was only a trace
Of joy that so lovely a scene was given
To earth as a foretaste of yonder heaven.
To the clarion note of its swelling chime;
When the winds were hushed,
And the calm sea flushed
With the roseate tints of a summer sky,
The quiet beauty that greeted thine eye
Sunk deep in the soul,
While the tear that stole
Down thy thoughtful face
Was only a trace
Of joy that so lovely a scene was given
To earth as a foretaste of yonder heaven.
All natural beauty became a part
Of thy spirit's life, and so filled thy heart
With the tranquil peace
Of a blessed release
From all save the thoughts of the good and pure,
That thy soul was trained to bravely endure,
And to struggle on,
Till, the victory won,
Thou hast winged thy flight
To those realms of light,
Where the talents that shone so brightly here
Are filling a wider and nobler sphere.
Of thy spirit's life, and so filled thy heart
With the tranquil peace
Of a blessed release
From all save the thoughts of the good and pure,
That thy soul was trained to bravely endure,
And to struggle on,
Till, the victory won,
198
To those realms of light,
Where the talents that shone so brightly here
Are filling a wider and nobler sphere.
1854.
| Verses from The island book | |