University of Virginia Library

FRIENDSHIP WITH NATURE.

Benighted wanderer o'er the lonely wild,
For whom no hearth-stone blazes, no fond eye
Watches through gathering mist—no voice of love
Prepares the welcome greeting—droop not thus,
Disquieted and desolate. Look up!
Orion holds his golden lamp for thee;
And see, from highest heaven, the kingly orb
Of Sirius doth thee honour with its beam,
Yea, even the fair-robed queenly moon doth bow
Upon her silver throne, to guide thy feet
Mid thorns and pitfalls.
Dost thou mourn to feel
Forgotten here, upon this little point
Of one small planet? Lo! majestic worlds,
That turning on their glowing axles, hide
The mysteries of their myriad habitants,
Smile on thee, full of friendly offices,
Making night's vault for thee most beautiful
With their bright tokens. And the glorious sun,
Chief of God's creatures in our universe,
Shall wake to give thee light, as cheerily
As to the proudest king.
So, be not sad!
If mortals scorn thee, fly to Nature's arms
And ever open breast. For he who lives
Nearest to her, is never far from God.
Yes, make of Nature an enduring friend,
That when grim Age shall lay his hand on thee,
Plucking thee bare of all the cherished plumes
Of youth and fancy, every wild-winged bird
Cleaving the air, or brooding o'er its nest
With soul-born music, every bud that lifts
Its infant chalice, full of morning dew,
May touch the fountains of remembered joy,
Making thee young again.
And when at last
The dark death-angel cometh, earth shall ope
Her mourning matron breast, more tenderly,
More full of grief, than when the haughty chief,
With blood-stained laurels and proud funeral train,
Lies down to be forgotten.
She shall make
Thy chamber in the dust, and spread thy couch,
And bid the grass-flower and the violet
Embroider its green turf, as daintily
As though the clarion-cry of wealth and fame
Had proudly heralded thy pilgrimage.
Regard not Time's brief tyranny, oh, man!
Made in God's image—but uplift thy brow,
And by the glory of the inward light
Which falls on Nature's dial night and day,
Mark out thy journey to the realm of love.