Sacred Meditations and Moral Themes In Verse :: :: University of Virginia Library

Oh, Love creative! earth itself is heaven,
Would man profane it not, by savage tread
And sordid gaze. E'en now, the Sun appears
A king of glory, and the breathing world,
Like some vast instrument of magic sound,
A thousand melodies of life awakes.—
The sky is covered with blue isles of cloud,
That flash or float as sun and wind command,
The air is balm, the breeze is living joy;
My heart is dumb with an exceeding bliss
Of light and beauty, pouring in from day's
Enchantment; while beneath yon vernal hill,
In shadowy sport reflecting cloud and sky,
Poetic murmurs from the distant sea
In lulling falls come faintly on the mind.

But now the conscious Elements prepare
For slumber; modulated breezes swell;
The sky, with ocean-mimicry adorned,
Grows pale and paler; soon will stars advance

191

And seem to palpitate, as there they shine,
With trepid beauty: thus will night begin,
And earth lie cradled in a dim repose,
Till the pure heaven comes down upon the soul,
And all is hushed within her holy spell.—
So ends a Sabbath; so may Sabbaths end
Devoutly sacred; till the wings of Time
Be folded, and Eternal Sabbath reigns.
For all Thy ministries begin and end
In Love,—that glorious synonyme of Thee!
Whose palace fills th' interminable Heavens;
From the first tear that rolled down Adam's cheek,
To the last pang of living bosoms now,
In light and darkness,—still our God is Love.—