 | Poems by Jean Ingelow |  |
Preface.
What wonder man should fail to stay
A nurseling wafted from above,
The growth celestial come astray,
That tender growth whose name is Love!
A nurseling wafted from above,
The growth celestial come astray,
That tender growth whose name is Love!
It is as if high winds in heaven
Had shaken the celestial trees,
And to this earth below had given
Some feathered seeds from one of these.
Had shaken the celestial trees,
And to this earth below had given
Some feathered seeds from one of these.
O perfect love that 'dureth long!
Dear growth, that shaded by the palms,
And breathed on by the angel's song,
Blooms on in heaven's eternal calms!
Dear growth, that shaded by the palms,
And breathed on by the angel's song,
Blooms on in heaven's eternal calms!
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How great the task to guard thee here,
Where wind is rough, and frost is keen,
And all the ground with doubt and fear
Is chequered birth and death between!
Where wind is rough, and frost is keen,
And all the ground with doubt and fear
Is chequered birth and death between!
Space is against thee—it can part;
Time is against thee—it can chill;
Words—they but render half the heart;
Deeds—they are poor to our rich will.
Time is against thee—it can chill;
Words—they but render half the heart;
Deeds—they are poor to our rich will.
| Poems by Jean Ingelow | |